The Submarine Fleet Indian Navy Planned... But Never Got In Our Defence S3
From nuclear-powered ambitions to the delays in conventional fleets, this is the full story of India's undersea puzzle.
Produced by Garvit Srivastava
Sound mixed by Rohan Bharti
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Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Indian Express
India's cyber doctrine has an ambitious vision, but there are implementation challenges
On August 7 this year, the Chief of Defence Staff of India, General Anil Chauhan, released the Joint Doctrine for Cyberspace Operations. The unveiling of this declassified document represents India's formal acknowledgement that future warfare will be as much about bytes as bullets. While the doctrine articulates laudable strategic ambitions, its success will ultimately depend on addressing several practical challenges that need to be discussed, explored and harmonised. The doctrine's core premise — that cyber threats transcend traditional service boundaries — reflects hard-learned lessons from global conflicts. The 2007 cyber attacks on Estonia, which paralysed the nation's digital infrastructure, demonstrated how adversaries could achieve strategic objectives without firing a single shot. Similarly, the 2010 Stuxnet attack on Iran's nuclear facilities showed how cyber operations could achieve kinetic effects, blurring the lines between digital and physical warfare. India's own experience reinforces this reality. The 2020 Mumbai power grid attack, allegedly linked to Chinese hackers, illustrated how critical infrastructure vulnerabilities could be exploited during military tensions. Not to miss the recent info war using digital media and cyber attacks during Operation Sindoor. The doctrine's emphasis on 'threat-informed planning and real-time intelligence integration' acknowledges cyber warfare's unique characteristics. Unlike conventional military operations that follow established patterns, cyber attacks can emerge from state actors, criminal networks, or lone hackers with equal destructive potential. The 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack, which affected over 300,000 computers globally within days, exemplifies how rapidly cyber threats can escalate beyond traditional containment strategies. However, the doctrine's most ambitious goal — achieving true jointness in cyberspace — faces significant structural obstacles. The Indian military's historical tendency toward service-specific cultures runs deep. Each service has developed distinct procurement systems, operational protocols, and technological preferences over decades. The Army's focus on tactical cyber capabilities, the Navy's emphasis on maritime domain awareness, and the Air Force's space-cyber integration represent fundamentally different approaches to the same domain. Consider the ongoing challenges with India's Defence Cyber Agency, established in 2019. Despite its mandate to coordinate tri-service cyber operations, reports suggest that resource allocation, operational authority, and intelligence sharing still remain non-optimal. The doctrine's success will require overcoming these institutional barriers that have proven resistant to reform efforts. The US offers a cautionary tale. Despite establishing Cyber Command in 2009, American forces still struggle with inter-service coordination in cyberspace. The complexity of integrating Army network operations, Navy information warfare, and Air Force cyber capabilities has required constant organizational adjustments. If the world's most technologically advanced military faces such challenges, India's path toward cyber jointness will likely be even more complex. The doctrine's emphasis on human capital development reveals perhaps its most critical vulnerability. India faces a severe cybersecurity talent shortage, with industry estimates suggesting a deficit of over 10 lakh skilled professionals. The military's ability to compete with private sector salaries and work conditions for top cyber talent remains challenging but not impossible. This challenge is compounded by the specialised nature of military cyber operations. Unlike traditional military skills that can be developed through established training programs, cyber warfare requires continuous adaptation to evolving threats. The half-life of cybersecurity knowledge is measured in months, not years, requiring unprecedented investment in continuous learning and development. The doctrine's call for 'indigenous cyber capabilities' also raises practical concerns about India's technological ecosystem. While initiatives like the more than decade old National Cyber Security Strategy emphasize self-reliance, India's cybersecurity industry remains heavily dependent on foreign technologies and expertise. Building truly indigenous capabilities would require massive investments in research and development, with uncertain timelines for operational readiness. No doubt many start-ups have come up but they are mostly acquired by deep pocket foreign IT giants. The doctrine's analysis of international approaches, while informative, may oversimplify complex realities. China's cyber doctrine, for instance, isn't just about 'comprehensive national power' — it reflects a fundamentally different relationship between state and society. China's ability to mobilise private sector cyber capabilities through national intelligence laws has no equivalent in India's democratic framework. Similarly, the Russian model of leveraging 'non-state actors' for strategic objectives operates within a governance structure that tolerates criminal cyber activities when they serve state interests. India's approach to cyber deterrence must account for these fundamental differences in political systems and strategic cultures. The US model of 'persistent engagement' has also faced criticism for its potential to escalate conflicts and blur attribution lines. India's adoption of similar approaches could complicate its relationships with neighbors and create new vulnerabilities in an already complex regional security environment. Despite these challenges, the doctrine represents necessary progress in India's cyber evolution. Its public release serves important strategic communication purposes, signaling serious intent while maintaining operational ambiguity. However, several critical gaps require urgent attention. First, the doctrine lacks specific timelines and resource commitments for implementation. Without concrete benchmarks, it risks becoming another aspirational document rather than an operational blueprint. Second, the integration of civilian cybersecurity infrastructure with military operations remains underexplored. Given that most of India's critical infrastructure operates in the private sector, effective cyber defence requires unprecedented civil-military cooperation. Finally, the doctrine's deterrence strategy needs clearer articulation. Unlike nuclear deterrence, cyber deterrence operates in a domain where attribution is often uncertain and escalation dynamics are poorly understood. Translating doctrinal ambitions into operational capabilities, therefore, will require sustained political commitment, significant resource allocation, and institutional reforms that extend far beyond military structures. The writer, a defence and cyber security analyst, is former country head of General Dynamics
United News of India
3 hours ago
- United News of India
Netanyahu discusses plans of taking over remaining Hamas strongholds with Trump
Tel Aviv,/New Delhi, Aug 10(UNI) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday spoke with United States president Donald Trump over the phone and discussed with him Israeli plans of taking over rest of the Hamas held strong holds in Gaza. Netanyahu has expressed Israel's intentions of taking over rest of the Hamas held strong holds in order to bring about the end of the war, the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas. A statement from the Israeli prime minister's office said that the two world leaders discussed this topic over the phone. The statement added that the Israeli Prime Minister thanked the US President for his "strong support for Israel since the beginning of the war,". UNI XC RKM More News Netanyahu discusses plans of taking over remaining Hamas strongholds with Trump 11 Aug 2025 | 1:23 AM Tel Aviv,/New Delhi, Aug 10(UNI) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday spoke with United States president Donald Trump over the phone and discussed with him Israeli plans of taking over rest of the Hamas held strong holds in Gaza. see more.. Netanyahu discusses plans of taking over remaining Hamas strongholds with Trump 11 Aug 2025 | 1:22 AM Tel Aviv,/New Delhi, Aug 10(UNI) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday spoke with United States president Donald Trump over the phone and discussed with him Israeli plans of taking over rest of the Hamas held strong holds in Gaza. see more.. INS Tamal concludes successful Casablanca visit en route to India 10 Aug 2025 | 10:45 PM New Delhi, Aug 10 (UNI) INS Tamal, the Indian Navy's newest stealth frigate, has completed a port call at Casablanca, Morocco, on her way to India. see more.. 2,010 Agniveers, Including 309 women, pass out from INS Chilka 10 Aug 2025 | 10:07 PM New Delhi, Aug 10 (UNI) 2,010 Agniveers, including 309 women Agniveers of the Indian Navy, and 276 Naviks of Indian Coast Guard, passed out as part of the sixth batch of Agniveers from the portals of INS Chilka. see more.. Delhi Police engage private security guards for Independence Day safety 10 Aug 2025 | 9:35 PM New Delhi, Aug 10 (UNI) The Delhi Police held briefing sessions across all districts today as part of its "Prahari" initiative, aiming to integrate private security personnel into public safety measures ahead of Independence Day. see more..
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
India, Pak to hold separate naval drills in Arabian Sea on August 11-12
The navies of India and Pakistan are set to conduct separate naval exercises in the Arabian Sea beginning Monday, defence sources confirmed on Sunday. Both nations have issued Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) to restrict air traffic over their respective maritime zones for the duration of the drills. According to officials, the Indian Navy will hold exercises on August 11 and 12, while the Pakistan Navy has announced a two-day drill within its waters during the same period. 'Indian Navy warships would be carrying out drills in the Arabian Sea on August 11–12. Pakistan Navy has also issued a NOTAM for its own exercises,' a defence source said. The development follows just months after heightened tensions between the two countries in May. On April 22, a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam claimed 26 lives. In retaliation, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Show more Show less
