India Rejects F-35, US Iron Dome Test, New T-90M Tanks, IAF's Tajakistan Base, India Philippines Naval Drill In South China Sea

Why India Does Not Want To Buy F-35 & The US Is Not Keen To Sell Its Most Advanced Stealth F-35 Jets?

Defense enthusiasts have often debated the possibility of India acquiring the  advanced F-35 stealth fighter jet with even some media reports, at one point, claiming the US had given a green signal for its India sale.

The fighter’s advanced sensor package collects tremendous amounts of data than any previous fighter has in the history of combat aviation, which gives its pilots a decisive advantage in a battle.

Can India Get F-35 Jets?

One major complication with integrating the fifth-generation F-35 with the Indian Air Force is the issue of compatibility.

Firstly, the fighter will be unable to avail of air-to-air refuelling because of a different configuration in its design.

Its induction into the IAF will mean a replacement of almost 80 percent of the software and hardware employed by the Indian systems. Most importantly, almost none of the weapons in the current Indian inventory can be integrated with the aircraft.

The most important aspect of buying this aircraft is its huge cost and the lifetime cost of maintenance and that reportedly runs into billions.

Iron Dome: US Army Completes Successful Test Of ‘Most Awaited’ Air Defense System To Fill Operational Gaps

The US Army, the Israel Missile Defense Organization and RAFAEL have successfully completed a live fire test of the first US Army Iron Dome Defense System (IDDSA) Battery, which the United States acquired from Israel.

The performance and live fire test was conducted at the White Sands New Mexico test range, the Ministry of Defense said. It was the first time US soldiers intercepted live targets employing the Iron Dome System.

Israel’s air defense system Iron Dome has been very potent in intercepting hostile projectiles and experts say they shot down around 90 percent of the rockets launched from the Gaza Strip during the recent clash.

The Iron Dome batteries will be deployed on the instructions of the US Congress to fill a gap in the US Army’s defense systems against cruise missile attacks.

Israel sent its first Iron Dome battery to the US Army in October last year. The next battery is expected to be sent to Fort Bliss to start the evaluation program in December and the second should arrive in January.

Russian Army Receives New Batches of Latest T-14 and T-90M Battle Tanks

Russia is one of just two countries in the world known to be producing multiple separate classes of battle tank in parallel, with its T-90M Breakthrough and T-14 Armata both being in service the former in a frontline role since early 2020 and the later currently with a limited initial operating capability.

These tanks are relied on to gradually phase upgraded variants of Cold War era T-72 and T-80 tanks, as well as older T-90 variants, out of service. While the two tanks use many of the same technologies in their sensors, communications and armour, the T-90M is a lighter and less ambitious design which is also considerably cheaper to manufacture and has much lower operational costs and maintenance needs, allowing it to serve as a lighter complement to the T-14.

The Russian Army is expected to continue to receive both tanks throughout the 20 twenties, and Russian state-owned defence conglomerate Rostec was reported on August 23rd to have received new units of both.

Indian Sukhoi-30MKI in Tajikistan, India shows intent

With the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, India activated its first foreign base in Ayni airbase in Tajikistan that was recently used as a base for IAF’s C-17 and C-130 Transporter to evacuate Indians stuck in Afghanistan in the last few days.

India for a brief period also had deployed a small fleet of Sukhoi-30MKI at the base recently perhaps to send signals to the players in Afghanistan about its intent.

Taliban since taking over power in Kabul have promised that country won’t be used as a base to attack other countries as proxies and, India has been assured by the high command of the Taliban that they won’t be sending their cadres into Kashmir nor will allow Pakistan to use Afghanistan as a terror training facility that it used to be before Americans walked in after 9/11.

Deployment of a small fleet of Sukhoi-30MKI might be symbolic but it will also act as a deterrence about possible Indian airstrikes if Afghanistan is again turned into a terror factory of the world that it once was.

India And Philippines Conduct Naval Drills In South China Sea

India on Monday carried out a naval exercise with the Philippines in the South China Sea, five days after it conducted a similar drill with Vietnam in the region that has been witnessing growing Chinese military expansionism.

While the Indian Navy deployed its guided missile destroyer INS Ranvijay and guided missile corvette INS Kora in the exercise, the Philippine Navy was represented by its frigate BRP Antonio Luna.

The Indian and Vietnamese navies carried out a naval exercise in the South China Sea on August 18. The joint evolutions conducted during the exercise included several operational manoeuvers and the participating ships of both navies were satisfied with the consolidation of interoperability achieved through this operational interaction at sea.