Tired of insurgency, terrorism and border intrusions, the Indian Army decided to think out of the box. They went out and procured nearly two dozen “silent reconnaissance vehicles for missions beyond enemy lines” worth Rs. 1 crore (approx $210,000). And just to be extra conspicuous they disguised these “silent reconnaissance vehicles” as ………. golf carts. [TimesOnline UK] (tip Sandeep via email)
The scandal emerged in a scathing audit of the military’s recent spending by India’s civil servants after army chiefs were given powers over their expanding budgets to combat terrorism.
Nothing …

The US army has ordered two Sikh men, a doctor and a dentist to get rid of their turbans and shave off their hair and beard when they report for active duty.[CNN]
The irony?
They will recruite for your language skills if you speak Punjabi.
Uncle Sam: “No turbans”
(CNN) — For Capt. Kamaljit Singh Kalsi, a doctor, and 2nd Lt. Tejdeep Singh Rattan, a dentist, this is a hill worth fighting for.
These two U.S. military recruits of the Sikh faith are challenging an Army order that they remove their turbans and cut their …

Israeli arms-maker Rafael takes the route of torture. How else can you describe this music video that is supposed to resemble a Bollywood number? [Wired] (Anantha via email)
Warning: the following video contains a weird combo of a dude that somehow reminds us of Kishan Kumar, Israeli women in Indian costumes, a leading lady who looks like she really wants to be somewhere else, really bad English lyrics (how do I know its English, read the subtitles) and an even worse tune that goes “Dinga dinga, dinga dinga, dinga dinga, …

Amid the stock market crashes, bailout plans and elections tamashaa, a significant piece of news that was pushed to the background is the passage of the India-US nuclear deal a.k.a the 123 Agreement. Madhur Singh at TIME magazine explains why this deal is significant to India, and in a way also to the U.S.A. [TIME]
1. The deal signals the true end of any cold war sentiments between Washington and New Delhi. Anyone familiar with the history of Indu-US politics is well aware of the cold war era history with India …

From the ABC interview that will air soon. The emphasis, of course is mine.

GIBSON: And let me finish with this. I got lost in a blizzard of words there. Is that a yes? That you think we have the right to go across the border with or without the approval of the Pakistani government, to go after terrorists who are in the Waziristan area?
PALIN: I believe that America has to exercise all options in order to stop the terrorists who are hell bent on destroying America and our allies. We …

Remember when Karthik talked about India partaking in “Red Flag” exercises with the US and other nations?
The Indian Su-30MKI apparently is a hot itemimg: via Wikipedia
India and the US have been participating in joint air force exercises over the last decade or so. The most newsworthy story to ever come out of these exercises was when US got drubbed by India in the 2004 Cope India operation.
That pissed off some flyboy bigwigs in the American camp. So when the 2007 edition came around with India brandishing it’s Russian built Su-30MKI …

Parthasarathy Sudarshan, a NRI has been sentenced for three years in the US for an arms scam. [BBC]
As discussed on UD earlier this year, Sudarshan was accused violating arms control laws by secretly trying to sell components for space vehicles, ballistic missiles and fighter jets to firms associated with India’s defense agencies [UD].

Parthasarathy Sudarshan, a resident of Simpsonville, South Carolina, has been found guilty of illegal arms export from US to India. [link]
img: via AFP
A citizen of India living legally in South Carolina pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to illegally export weapons to India, authorities said Thursday. It was one of two cases involving illegal arms in India.
The emphasis on “living legally” is mine. Why did this CNN reporter feel the necessity to include those two words in there? Is a citizen of India living in the US automatically assumed …

F-16C aggressor during Red Flag 06-1 Image from Wiki

What is more fun than flying a fighter jet? Taking part in a training exercise with the best in the world and that is where some Indian pilots are headed.
Defense minister AK Anthony revealed that India will be taking part in the “Red Flag” exercise, along with NATA and US military allies in August 2008. Given the recent fiasco by the Chinese, this is another slap in their already upset face.