It Flies!

About a year ago a colleague sent us a video clip of the Light Combat Aircraft's taxi trials under the heading 'It lives'. Well, we can now say with pride and confidence – 'It flies'! The flawless first flight of the LCA on the 4th of January marks the coming of age for Indian aerospace research. Despite the best efforts of detractors, at home and abroad, perseverance by our scientists (and test pilots!) has paid off and they deserve to be congratulated. The flight restores to large measure the credibility of the Defence Research and Development Organization, which recently had received a severe battering from the media and the defense services. As it took to the Bangalore sky, the LCA carried on wings the hopes and aspirations of an entire nation. The timimg of the test flight is a fitting tribute to India’s greatest test pilot, the late Gp. Capt. Suranjan Das, who was killed thirty years ago (almost to the day) when the HF-24 Marut he was flying crashed shortly after take-off. To sure, much work remains to be done before the aircraft is certified for service with the IAF, but a major technological and psychological hurdle has been surmounted.

On other domestic issues too there appears to be perceptible progress. The test flight of the Agni II on 17th January, taken together with General Padmanabhan's comments on the creation of the medical quick response teams for dealing with nuclear emergencies, the revamping of the civil defense infrastructure in major cities and the Cabinet Committee acceptance of the task forces' reports on defence reorganization indicate that the nuclear doctrine may soon become more transparent. The expected flight of the GSLV in late February will represent yet another milestone. We will offer comprehensive coverage of the latest developments in Indian aerospace and technology in a forthcoming issue of the Monitor. Last, but by no means the least, the economy seems to be in better shape than before. Largely due to buoyant tax receipts, the government is expected to stay well within its targeted fiscal deficit, for the first time in many years. The beginning of this new millennium also coincides with a transition of power in the United States, a transition which opens up new opportunities for co-operation between the worlds two largest democracies.

The new millennium is indeed off to an auspicious start. The contrast with last January could not be more apparent. The gloom that descended across the country after the hijack of IC-814 has now largely dissipated. However, we as a nation must never forget the pain that members of the Katyal family will continue to bear for the rest of their lives. One can only hope that 2000 was the last year of a bad millennium and 2001 marks is the beginning of a glorious one.

This issue

In connection with the LCA's first flight we offer you a brief, yet comprehensive, piece on the aircraft's development by R.L.N. Sarma and Sunil Sainis. The program will be discussed in greater detail in a forthcoming issue. Austin Joseph brings us up to speed with the latest in torpedo development around the world. In keeping with our desire to give the North-East greater coverage, Prasenjit Medhi offers our readers an insightful look into the insurgency that plagues Assam. We also continue our coverage of security and intelligence reform in India. In his piece, Sunil Sainis evaluates the expected restructuring of Indian intelligence agencies. On the foreign policy front the white paper on Indo-US relations by Gary K. Bertsch and Anupam Srivastava conceptualizes and enumerates specific near and longer-term policy options to assist formulating a more effective US policy toward India. Finally, as part of our 'Know Your Army' series we bring you a regimental history of the Jats by Mandeep Bajwa and Ravi Rikhye.