surajmal Posted March 9, 2013 Posted March 9, 2013 i wouldn't go that far' date=' but yes, i would rate F-16s as a more reliable and proven instrument than F-22. Nomatter how good your technology is, there is always an element of uncertainty towards its preformance until it actually succeeds in real war scenario.[/quote'] You are seriously reaching and frankly there shouldn't even be a debate.
surajmal Posted March 9, 2013 Posted March 9, 2013 Nonsense. LCA ran into lack of engine expertese in India once America slapped on sanctions on us for exploding a nuke. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that India mastered the technology of single crystal metal casting needed for high performance turbine blades. If you read the coverage of LCA development over the last 10 years in Indian press, it reeks of derision. Regardless of how slow it has been (and considering that the design freeze occurred in late 90s, it hasn't been that slow), LCA is the most crucial project for Indian aerospace development. But if you read the articles, you would see the ignorance and in some instances an agenda. Also F404 and F414 are going to be the powerplants for for LCA mk i and ii.
surajmal Posted March 9, 2013 Posted March 9, 2013 Its called building a 'failsafe'. Nomatter how much better you are than your antagonist' date=' it is still prudent to have 'route B' in place if major route A does get jammed up due to whatever reasons. [/quote'] Failsafes are supposed to be reliable. Have you seen the landscape around Karakoram "highway"? Brouhaha would be giving Sri Lanka an ultimatum. And considering the international opinion was already against Lanka for its excesses in anti LTTE operations, it would have been pretty easy to make SL back down. Also, Balochistan is up in flames and it will probably get worse. Lets see how long China stays. And Burmese people don't care much for China, so whatever deal is in place at the moment, it could fall apart in the future. "String of Pearls" nonsense was a media creation. 1. Vietnam HATES China. They will sign the deal before India offers it to them. 2. Chinese subs will be sitting next to Chennai and Indian Navy will be doing its impression of Gandhi's monkey - bura mat dekho? Bay of Bengal is a death trap for Chinese subs with the P8I and Tu142s circling above and all the listening posts in the area. (also would anyone be surprised if India has approached Vietnam for some sort of arrangement regarding setting up a listening post in Da Nang) If the idea is that China is going to attack India then India doesn't need to match China sub for sub. Frankly, how much of the chinese hardware is for show and how much is it functional? Can anyone answer that? Chinese seriously lack in operational readiness to be true blue navy by most conservative estimates.
ShanS Posted March 9, 2013 Posted March 9, 2013 Indeed. Until they actually see combat, we don't know what their capabilities are and how well built they are. Arre baba, the point is, BRAHMOS is not super-long range and therefore, the USN squadrons simply have to create enough 'buffer space' between them and land to render the BRAHMOS largely useless. Remember, the USN air arm has a combat range of over 1500 kms, so they can stay out of BRAHMOS's range and still do damage. Plus, look at it this way- until you try out a system in actual war scenario, don't get too cocky about its abilities. Israel/US found this out the hard way with their patriot missile system in the first gulf war: everyone thought that Israel is 'safe as a bunker' from Saddam's scuds, because Patriot missile shield would protect them. Turns out that Patriot system was far crappier than they anticipated but luckily enough, the scuds were also far worse than they predicted, so nothing major really happened to Israel despite the total failure of the Patriot to live up to its name and billing. This is the inherent risk that all non-proven hardware carries and this is the reason why even the best militaries still keep the 'old clunky stuff from 20 years ago' in their inventory: because the old clunky stuff is proven in battle and in a pinch, they know what these old stuff is going to do and cannot do. The new stuff, until it proves itself, is simply a paper tiger- for all you know, your every 1 out of 3 Brahmos are duds due to corrupt desi babus siphoning money from supply acquisition. That has happened too in the past not just in India but also for western militaries, sometimes with disastrous consequences. My point is simple- having interacted with defence personnel in professional and personal capacity, i am yet to meet a high level commander who would happily trade away his old proven clunkers completely for the new unproven tech. They always keep some of the old stuff around because combat proven is the ultimate reliability tag in military. We do know the capability of ICBMs like TOPOL-M or Trident based on the numerous test and simulated user trials that were carried out by their respective users. It won't be very wise to shrug them off as "Tech Demonstrators" just because they haven't seen any combat. There is a difference between a technology demonstrator and a missile which hasn't been used in a real war scenario or doesn't have a 'Kill Count'. I'm not talking about USN.. I'm talking about the effectiveness of Brahmos against our immediate adversaries China and Pakistan. We are not fighting any war with US in near future. IN and IA has carried out many user trials and tests of the missile. If they are so confident about it as is DRDO, then there is no point to dismiss it's effectiveness. In any war scenario, a volley of Brahmos will be fired at the target and I highly doubt both of those countries posses a CIWS to neutralise it. Nobody is saying that one should trade away proven combat workhorse in favour of unproven stuff. USAF's workhorse is old but proven F-15.. likewise MiG-21 for IAF. What I'm saying is that Brahmos can't be dismissed as a "Tech Demonstrator" just because it hasn't seen real action yet.
Crookbond Posted April 11, 2013 Posted April 11, 2013 Sri Lankan court orders release of T.N. fishermen http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/sri-lankan-court-orders-release-of-tn-fishermen/article4606321.ece A Sri Lankan court on Thursday ordered the release of 19 Indian fishermen, who were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on March 13 for allegedly fishing in that country’s waters, officials said. The fishermen, who were lodged in Anuradhapuram Prison, would arrive either on Friday or the day after, they said. Mannar Judicial Magistrate court Magistrate Sarbuddin ordered their release along with their four boats. Meanwhile, the Oorkavalthurai court extended upto April 19 the remand of 26 Indian fishermen from Karaikal, who were arrested on April 5 for allegedly violating Sri Lanka’s international maritime boundary. The case relating to the arrest of 30 fishermen from this island on April 6 has been been posted for hearing on April 18, officials said. The fishermen were arrested and their five mechanised boats seized by the Navy personnel while fishing near Katchatheevu. The release of the Indians eased tension as fishermen here had launched agitations including boycotting fishing seeking their release, said local fishermen association representatives.
Mahaa Raavana Posted April 11, 2013 Posted April 11, 2013 The fishermen, who were lodged in Anuradhapuram Prison, would arrive either on Friday or the day after, they said. :giggle:
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