Kargil war with Pakistan: NDTV Video

U.S. troops launch massive attack on Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan

13 Feb 2010: See MilitaryTimes  

21 army men dead as avalanche hits army camp in Kashmir, more in Afpak

Update 12 Feb 2010: 185 dead in Afghanistan. Key tunnel remains closed.

Update 11 Feb 2010: 8 Pakistani soldiers killed in avalanche.

Update 11 Feb 2010: 3 more soldier were killed taking the total to 21. Canandian newspaper says that more people have been killed in Siachen due to cold weather than due to war. 

Update 10 Feb 2010: Indian Express reports that the Snow Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) had warned the Army and it’s High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) but these were ignored. Hindustan Times reports that the Army has initiated a probe and AFP reports that fresh snows have caused another avalanche killing another soldier bringing the total number of army deaths to 18.

Update 10 Feb 2010 VOA reports 17 people have been killed. 

09 Feb 2010 8ak:  As many as 13 army personnel, including an officer, were killed and 15 seriously injured in Baramulla district of Kashmir on Monday when an avalanche hit army’s high altitude warfare training camp. An army spokesman, Lt Colonel J S Brar, said scores more were still missing and rescuers were searching for them in deep snow. Seventy personnel have been rescued, he said. 

The dead included an officer, Lt Prateek, and twelve other ranks from the Army's prestigious High Altitude Warfare School, he said. The rescue work is on in full swing to evacuate the injured and search for survivors under the debris. In the meantime, the injured have been shifted to hospital for treatment. 

Pakistan to continue production of materials for nuclear weapons, China to set up military base in Pak

29 Jan 2010 8ak: NY Times reports that Pakistan will continue to produce nuclear material because it feels threatened by civil nuclear co-operation deals signed by the West with India. Indirectly supporting this claim is ex-Australian foreign minister's statement that U.S.'s deal with India, first proposed by George Bush, is harming global non-proliferation talks. 

8ak's views are that even in war, a country could use no more than 2 nuclear bombs before international agencies would step in to stop the war. So Pakistan's arsenal reported at between 90 to 120 bombs is more than enough for nuclear deterrence and that any further production could only be to export to other rogue nations such as Myanmar and North Korea. As 8ak reported earlier, Pakistan and China are fast becoming world nuclear-bomb making factories with little or no restraint on who they export to. 

China surrounds India with hostile intent then blames it for buying weapons from the west and forging a closer relationship with the U.S. This is how it justifies its intent to set up a military base in Pakistan. In this light, Gen Deepak Kapoor's statement of a "Two-Front War" seems adequately justified. 

As for the Australian stance, 8ak believes that they continue to show a lack of understanding of the geo-political realities surrounding India. 

Pak tribals shoot down another U.S. drone and the drawbacks of using drones

27 Jan 2009 8ak: Tehran Times reports that Pakistan tribals in Waziristan, unaffiliated to Taliban/al Qaeda are celebrating after they successfully shot down a U.S. drone. This may be the third drone shot down in Pakistan since 2008. 

Wired News has a great article on problems with the drones "Communications with their remote pilots regularly cut out, forcing the robotic aircraft into automatic holding patterns. The unmanned planes don’t handle rain, snow, heavy clouds, or high winds particularly well; the Air Force typically grounds as many drone flights as it can if there’s bad weather. Landing the aircraft (especially under inclement conditions) is awfully tricky."  

The Wired article also has a great link to a presentation on crash rates of Predator and Reaper planes which they say is 14 per 100,000 hours. The graph also shows a distinct learning curve ie. the high number of crashes in the early years of the U.S. using this technology gradually reducing over the years. 

On a more global note, most people agree the future is unmanned drones/UAVs so everyone seems to be making them but the market just isn't large enough to accommodate them all. Flightglobal reports that Israel's Rafael has said that it will stop producing drones. 

Lockheed delivers two upgraded P-3C maritime surveillance aircraft to Pakistan

20 Jan2010 8ak/PR: As India signs on for more MiG29's it is obvious that India is putting dependability & political relations over better equipment. It seems to be more and more obvious that the Americans are just being given scraps to keep them happy as we continue to build a deeper relation with Russia. I guess firms like Lockheed Martin have to decide whether they want to supply to Pakistan or India. They cant do both and this is one reason that the F-16 has little chance of winning in India.

Last week, Lockheed Martin delivered two upgraded P-3C maritime surveillance aircrafts out of the seven bought by Pakistan through foreign military sales route (FMS) from United States at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville for subsequent transfer to Pakistan. Lockheed Martin delivered the first plane in October 2009.

Lockheed Martin is upgrading the P-3Cs' aircraft and mission systems and providing maintenance under a 2006 contract from the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command. The aircraft support anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare missions and will enhance Pakistan’s ability to conduct maritime surveillance in littoral and deep-water environments. The aircraft are designed to have a single integrated tactical picture of the battle space, drawing upon data from aircraft sensors and information from other platforms.

“These aircraft incorporate a variety of enhanced features including communications, electro-optic and infrared systems, data management, controls and displays, mission computers and acoustic processing,” said Mike Fralen, director for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors' maritime surveillance programs.

The P-3C is Pakistan's primary maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. Its roles include anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, surveillance and reconnaissance, economic zone patrol, airborne early warning and electronic warfare. 

Pakistan operates 10 P-3C maritime aircrafts based at naval base in Karachi. The upgraded version of the aircraft includes Hawkeye 2000 AEW system. The P-3C is a four engine turbo prop aircraft with a cruising speed of 590 kilometres and can carry weapons up to 9 tons. It is equipped with bomb hard points on the wings for torpedoes or missiles.

The Pakistan’s navy is being upgraded to meet the emerging requirements due to expansion of Indian navy, which the former considers as it main adversary. As part of the upgrade plan Pakistan plans to induct new UAVs and is looking forward to the arrival of Z-9EC anti- submarine warfare helicopters, which will be embarked upon the service's new F-22P Sword-class light frigates. It is also in the process of buying next-generation submarine, the Type 214 built by Germany's Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyard.