Indian Army Defense Forces Modernised Military Technology

The 2005 security agreement comes in the backdrop of a series of military and counterinsurgency exercises that are buildingconfidence between the service branches of both countries. From basic maneuvers, such as joint naval patrols from the Arabian Sea to the Straits of Malacca in the six months after 9/11, exercises and operations are increasing in size, intensity, and complexity as the defense relationship grows. For instance, last
year’s Cope India ‘06 conducted in India was the largest bilateral air exercise between the two countries in more than 40 years. U.S. F-16 jets took on the Indian Air Force’s most advanced fighter jet, the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, a variant of an aircraft that is also used by the Chinese Air Force.

But perhaps nowhere is the security and military partnership more visible than in the Indian Ocean region.
Last year’s Exercise Malabar, the 2005 version of an annual joint exercise between the Indian and U.S. navies, saw the use of a sensitive communication system and frontline warships, including the nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Nimitz of the U.S. Navy and INS Viraat, India’s sole aircraft carrier. Analysts say that these drills are the first step toward exposing the Indian Navy to U.S. know-how, practices, and capabilities and developing real interoperability between the two navies.

These exercises reflect increased attention to Indian Ocean security by strategic thinkers in both countries.
Both sides are also carefully monitoring the expanded Chinese interest in Myanmar and the Chinese role in constructing a new port in Pakistan, at Gwadar. Both have a strong interest in maintaining the safety and integrity of the sea-lanes through the Indian Ocean. India’s new Maritime Doctrine, published by its navy in April 2004, declares India’s intent to avoid hostile domination of the Indian Ocean region’s “choke points,
important islands, and vital trade routes.” Besides its expanding cooperation with the United States, the Indian
Navy has conducted joint patrols with the Singaporean, Thai, and Filipino navies as well as made ports of call in Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea, and Japan. India has always had important economic relations with Japan; the political ties are now growing.

For many years, Indian defense planners preferred to develop indigenous equipment in order to control the supply chain and master the industrial skills involved. The price they paid was the slow development of some of the equipment they were working on. Much of the equipment they bought from other countries came from the former Soviet Union, and in many cases, it was modified in India. For instance, India’s air force is the world’s fourth largest and has more than 600 combat aircraft and more than 500 transports and helicopters, but its backbone consists of a fleet of modified MiG-21 combat jets, which date back to the 1960s.

In recent years, however, India has become one of the biggest arms buyers in the developing world. According to the Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations (1997–2004) report, published by CRS in 2005, India bought $7.9 billion worth of arms internationally between 2001 and 2004, second only to China with $10.4 billion. India has ambitious military modernization plans with a price tag of many billions of dollars. India’s defense budget has risen by an average of nearly 11 percent over the last five years to a 2006–2007 figure of $20.1 billion, according to figures published in the Indian press. The equipment-hungry air force and navy have seen their budgets grow even faster, at 18 percent and 14 percent, respectively.