October-November 2011
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Volume 8 No 5
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Active protections System Composite and hybrid armour systems have been adopted for tanks by improving their protection against kinetic and shaped-charge threats.
COV E R STO R Y
China’s Military Doctrines PHOTOGRAPH: Wikipedia
Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand PAGE 7 Turning 250 The First Battalion of the Indian Army’s Parachute Regiment celebrated its Raising Day on October 17. Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch PAGE 8 Exploiting Technology for Mission Accomplishment The BMS will provide the Indian Army an integration tool supporting every level of military. Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch PAGE 11 Transform National Security Apparatus The need to bring intelligence and geospatial information under the aegis of one single agency cannot be underestimated and should not be relegated to a later day. India must reach a base level to match its status as a regional power. Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch PAGE 16 Jeep on Steroids
The US Annual Report 2011 to Congress specifies that over the past decade, China’s military has benefited from the robust investment in modern hardware and technology. Many modern systems have reached maturity and others will become operational in the next few years. With emphasis on crew protection, the US Army has gone in for a RFP to upgrade the Humvees. R. Chandrakanth PLUS Interview: Rafael Reach for Accuracy and Reliability Sudarshan Shakti First / Tecknow Show Report: DSEi Interview: ATK Interview: Oshkosh Defense News in Brief
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n LT GENERAL (RETD) V.K. KAPOOR
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n the november-December 1993 issue of Foreign Affairs, an article entitled ‘the rise of china’ appeared. the article was by nicholas D. Kristoll, the former New York Times columnist, in which he said that china’s economy would surpass that of the US to become the world’s largest by the middle of the 21st century. he predicted that china’s economic growth would have a certain negative influence on the world’s economy. he said that if there were to be a power vacuum in the Pacific and Far eastern regions, china would take advantage of it as an opportunity to expand its regional sphere of interest. his observa-
tions have turned out to be prophetic. today, while there is a global fascination for china, the success of china’s national strategy employed so far and flowing from that its military strategy, needs to be studied and analysed so as to establish the veracity of global concerns regarding china’s conduct and stance in the future. As a first step, strategic and military thinkers need to study the evolution and development of china’s military thought through the ages which would indicate the trend of china’s military strategy and give an insight into the mental conditionings of china’s military leadership and their soldiery. this article briefly deals with the evolution of china’s military thought in the following context:
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the warring states era maoist military thought People’s War under modern conditions Active defence Local wars under high-tech conditions Local wars under conditions of “informatisation”
The Warring States Era chinese have their own unique perceptions, which may be difficult to appreciate without an examination of their ancient military thought and ancient statecraft. recent chinese writings about the future security environment have referred to “the warring state era” in chinese history which pertains to the period 475-221 bc. During this age, the
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