Major Achievements of ISRO Year Ended 2014

Introduction

The Indian Space Programme had a modest beginning with the launch of the first sounding rockets in November 1963 from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), an obscure fishing village near Thiruvananthapuram for the investigation of ionosphere using sounding rockets. The primary objective of the Indian Space Program is to achieve self-reliance in Space Technology and to evolve application program to meet the developmental needs of the country, thus ISRO was brought under the newly formed DOS in September 1972. 

Since then, over the last five decades, the ever challenging task of space technology development and utilisation, has not only graduated from experimental and demonstration phases to an operation era, but also provided its potential to address the national needs. Notable progress has been made in the design, development and operation of space systems, as well as, using them for vital services like telecommunications, television broadcasting, meteorology, disaster management support and natural resources survey and management including climate variability and change.

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The 5 Deadly Deadly Guns of Modern War

While everyone oohs and aahs over nuclear weapons, submarines and stealth fighters, modern wars usually involve infantries on the ground—and they need guns

by Kyle Mizokami

Modern warfare has seen breathtaking advances in the last hundred years, as mortal competition between nations spawns successively deadlier weapons.Aircraft, missiles, tanks, submarines and other inventions, many of which did not exist in practical terms in 1914 — have quickly earned key positions in the militaries of the world. Yet there is still one invention that, although conceived more than five hundred years ago, still has a vital place on today’s battlefield: the infantry weapon and supporting arms. No matter how high tech the armed forces of the world have become, warfare since the end of the Second World War has consistently involved some form of infantry combat.

With that in mind, here are five of the most deadly guns of modern war.

AK-47:

The undisputed king of the modern battlefield is the Avtomat Kalashnikova model 47, or AK-47. Extremely reliable, the AK-47 is plentiful on Third World battlefields. From American rap music to Zimbabwe, the AK-47 has achieved icon status, and is one of the most recognizable symbols—of any kind—in the world. The AK series of rifles is currently carried by fighters of the Islamic State, Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, various factions in Libya and both sides in the Ukraine conflict.

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What is the National Interest?

The “national interest” is a term commonly thrown around in political debates and policy discussions but very rarely defined. This is partly for political reasons, because no politician or activist would ever claim to be against the national interest (it’s easy to be for it when you don’t define it) and partly for practical reasons, because the national interest is a very hard thing to define.

What do YOU mean by national interest?

Many of the most seemingly intractable debates in ethics, public policy, and other areas of great importance stem from lack of clarity about terms – if my opponent and I both use the term “equality” but he means equality of result whereas I mean equality of opportunity we’re going to talk past each other. Worse, the lack of clarity hinders clear thinking about necessary compromises, turning conflicts about means into conflicts about values when they do not need to be.

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Birds of a feather flock together

by Admin

The Adage goes thus "Birds of a feather flock together", this veritable scenario is emerging in the South-Asian political arena today. Confronting China's newfound belligerence and undeterred run in the South-Asian landscape of late, has prompted these three divergent nation states spread across several thousands of kilometers come together under a Trilateral agreement to counter mighty Red Dragon's aggressive and assertive military ambitions.

China has been a tenuous thorn and a anathema for India for several decades now, however unlike Pakistan, China's stance against India is understated and less confrontational. It waves its flashy double edged sword against India only when there are strong imperatives to underline its foreign policy postulations.

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Howitzer Howlers

TATA SED 155mm Howitzer

Even before the present and immensely proactive NDA - (National Democratic Alliance) government led by Shri. Narendra Modi opened up Foreign Direct Investment upto 49% in the Defence sector, major Indian industrial enterprises such as TATA Power SED, Punj Lloyd, L&T, Bharat Forge, Mahindra Defence Systems had forged joint venture agreements with renowned global defence equipment manufacturing companies especially those related to manufacture of 155mm/52 caliber artillery Howitzers. The new government has also reversed the retrograde blacklisting policy made by A K Anthony former defence minister in the UPA government to mitigate the conflict between probity and speed in defence acquisitions. These are good signs for the future of the Indian Defence industry, especially when seasoned players are brought into the fray to manufacture cutting edge equipment on a timely and cost effective basis.

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Why India should buy the F-35 Lightning II

LOCKHEED MARTIN'S F-35 LIGHTNING II

INTRODUCTION

The F-35 Lightning II, virtually a flying computer is the most advanced multi-role fighter in the world, which is a combination of a stealth bomber and a fighter jet and it promises to be the most effective fighter aircraft in the decades to come. It has exceptional abilities as a fifth generation fighter which features radar evading all aspect stealth capability, supersonic speed and extreme agility, network-enabled operations, advanced sustainment, combined with air-to-air and air-to-ground combat potential, unmatched air dominance air combat roles with the most powerful and comprehensive integrated sensor package of any fighter aircraft in history. The sensors and communications systems enable pilots to share information securely with forces at sea, in the air or on the ground for more cohesive operations. The F-35 is a fifth generation technologically sophisticated single seat, single engine aircraft, but unlike its predecessor the F-22A Raptor, it has the capability to perform additional functions such as reconnaissance, air defense missions along with similar tasks like ground attack,  interdiction and tactical strikes, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence roles.

The fighter employs several cutting-edge but uncharted technologies hence it has to undergo fifty six thousand separate tests everything from making sure a bomb will fall out of the concealed bay to seeing what happens when dropped at supersonic speeds. The F-35 will be a valuable asset to any air force in its arsenal, it will also be a viable proposition in the long-run when compared to any other aircraft in the next decade or more as it is now become an unstoppable proposition. Lockheed Martin has designed and built a fighter that has blown through the boundaries of imagination.

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