What India's Integrated Rocket Force would mean for deterrence, doctrine, and defence

Representational image (Photo: Shutterstock)

A long shot

As Washington grows risk-averse and Beijing gains leverage, the Seoul deal reshapes India's geopolitical space

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping talk as they leave after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in Busan, South Korea, October 30, 2025 (Photo: Reuters)

Trump's search for a 'grand bargain' with China: How should India respond?

The push for reform will shape the next phase of India's military modernisation

The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd-developed light combat aircraft Tejas Mark 1A after its maiden flight in Nashik on October 17, 2025 (Photo: Reuters)

Why 2026 matters

The need of the hour is to strengthen military capability and logistic readiness, and streamline defence budgeting

Indian and Chinese soldiers marching along the India-China border in Bumla, Arunachal Pradesh, in 2019 (Photo: PTI)

How India must prepare to fight the next war with China

As Moscow deepens ties with China and courts Pakistan, India must engage Russia with clear eyes and calibrated realism

Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev (left) speaking in New Delhi in November 1973. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is seated alongside (Photo: Russian Embassy in India)

India-Russia relations without illusions

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The privately held "big four" may yet land safely, despite the presence of public sector giant HAL in the race

Artist Kuntal Biswas' depiction of the country’s planned indigenous first stealth fighter jet (Photo: Kuntal Biswas)

Taxiing in: India's stealth fighter

As the global centre of gravity shifts towards the Indo-Pacific, India faces both opportunity and challenge in a bipolar world shaped by US-China rivalry

The Chinese naval ship Qi Jiguang arrives at a commercial port in Sihanoukville, southern Cambodia, on October 10 (Photo: PTI)

India's gambit for the Indo-Pacific century

The task demands a fusion of strategy, infrastructure, and cutting-edge technology to secure territorial sovereignty

Army personnel patrol alongside robotic mules near the LoC on the outskirts of Jammu on October 16 (Photo: PTI)

The 'modern' guarding forces of India's borders

Palestinian officials shed light on the challenges of postwar reconstruction

A man looks out from his damaged apartment at the destruction in his neighbourhood in Gaza City in October (Photo: PTI)

Can Gaza rise from rubble?

Women may be marching perfectly in parades but they are still denied the opportunity to serve in combat roles in the Indian Army

Colonel Sophia Qureshi (right) and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh at an Indian government media briefing on Operation Sindoor in New Delhi on May 10 (Photo: Reuters)

A battle within

Experts caution India on China's Indo-Pacific moves

The Indian guided-missile destroyer INS Kolkata leaves Sydney Harbour after the conclusion of the Malabar naval exercise in Sydney, Australia, on August 22, 2023 (Photo: Reuters)

Battle for the high seas

The public company is betting big on India's second attempt to claim a larger share of global shipbuilding

MDL's present-day-80-acre shipyard originated in a small dry dock in 1774 (Photo: Bhaswar Kumar)

As tides shift, MDL lays new keel

Operation Sindoor revealed how maritime power - not missiles or borders - now defines the next phase of the India-Pakistan rivalry

Pakistan Navy's submarine sails past a naval sailing ship during the sea phase of its 9th Multinational Maritime Exercise AMAN-25 in the Arabian Sea near Karachi on February 10 (Photo: Reuters)

Hot waters - India and Pakistan flex their muscles in the Arabian Sea

As wars grow faster, smarter, and borderless, India faces a pivotal choice - modernise its doctrine or risk strategic irrelevance

The Indian Army conducts Exercise Divya Drishti in Sikkim to test modern warfare systems (Photo: Indian Army)

Revisiting India's military doctrine

Sudarshan Chakra fuses shield and sword into one doctrine of power, but its broad contours are unclear

The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from Gaza, as seen from the city of Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023 (Photo: Reuters)

From Iron Dome to Star Wars, it is now India's turn

As India strengthens its defence capabilities with AI and frontier technology, the armed forces face a rapidly evolving landscape of information warfare, cyber threats, and autonomous combat systems

modern warfare, artificial intelligence, cyber war, indian warfare, robotics

Indian Army personnel inspect an armed drone during exercise Drone Prahar (Photo: Indian Army)

Old war, new plan: Experts urge policy consolidation on unconventional combat

HAL is leveraging its legacy and ramping up research & development to secure its place in India's evolving defence landscape

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd Chairman and Managing Director D K Sunil with the indigenous light combat Tejas aircraft (Photo: HAL)

HAL turns to its past to navigate an uncertain future

India's national security strategy is still developing, with challenges in balancing traditional and new threats

national security strategy, Indian military, opinion

Indian soldiers disembark from a military transport plane at a forward airbase in the Ladakh region on September 15, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)

National Security Strategy: Framing the first steps in the Indian context

A new set of disruptive technologies, indiscriminate use of air power, and obstinate willingness on both sides to test the tripwires have made the India-Pakistan conflict much more complex

Operation Sindoor involved the IAF successfully utilising the Russian-made S-400 missile defence system to counter Pakistani air attacks (Photo: Reuters)

Incremental climbs on the escalation ladder

A combat-capable flying wing UCAV at Malan, underscoring Beijing's push to expand its stealth drone fleet and reshape air power dynamics

The model of a Chinese-made Warrior Eagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is displayed before the opening of the Airshow China 2008 Zhuhai, China on November 3, 2008 (Photo: Reuters)

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