• Systemic Paralysis in India’s Defence Procurement: A Machine Without Ownership

    Delays and cost overruns in India’s defence procurement are not isolated bureaucratic mishaps. They reveal a deeper flaw in the structure of the country’s acquisition machinery — the absence of clear, enforceable accountability. For all the rhetoric of Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), India’s procurement ecosystem continues to be…

  • From Prachand to Apache: How the Indian Army’s Own Air Wings Are Redefining the Battlefield

    When the first batch of Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) Prachand entered service with the Indian Army at Missamari in Assam in 2022, it was a quiet but decisive step toward rewriting India’s land warfare doctrine. Now, with the upcoming induction of six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters — the first three arriving in July 2025 —…

  • India’s Defence Procurement System Suffers From a Lack of Accountability Over Quality

    Delays and cost overruns in India’s defence projects are not just bureaucratic setbacks. They point to a structural flaw in the country’s acquisition architecture — the near-total absence of accountability across the chain of command. Despite the policy push under Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), the defence procurement process…

  • America’s Shadow War Returns to Latin America

    At dawn, the Pacific rolls in quietly along the ragged Baja coast. Far offshore, a hulking silhouette with no beacon shows on fishermen’s phones as a blank space — a ship without a public identity. Onshore, the talk is not of naval tactics but of missing cousins, extortion at warehouses, and a fentanyl economy that…

  • Insights from the Simulator: A Conversation with Dr. Tim Cooley

    Welcome to Project O Five podcast where we explore the intersection of intelligence, security, and technology. I’m your host, Kagusthan Ariaratnam. In my former life, I saw conflict from the ground up—first as a child soldier, then as an intelligence operative. I learned that war is a brutal, deeply human affair. But the landscape of…

  • How Does China’s Salami-Slicing Tactics Deepen Instability?

    China’s relentless pursuit of territorial expansion through “salami slicing” represents one of the most insidious threats to stability in Asia today. This method of gradual encroachment—taking small slices of territory that individually seem trivial but collectively amount to sweeping gains—has become a defining feature of Beijing’s strategy against its neighbours. The term was first used…

  • Hangor-Class Hype vs. Hard Reality: Why Pakistan’s Submarine Gamble Won’t Reshape the Indian Ocean

    Pakistan’s naval establishment has been quick to celebrate the launches of its new Hangor-class submarines, framing them as “game-changers” that will upend the balance of power in the Arabian Sea. The narrative from Islamabad is clear: with eight air-independent propulsion (AIP) equipped boats on order from China, the Pakistan Navy will be able to extend…

  • Feeding the Nation vs Floating Submarines: Pakistan’s Skewed Priorities

    Imagine a nation at a crucial juncture, faced with two sharply convergent choices. On one side lies the pursuit of military strength—a decision to invest USD 6 billion in a fleet of eight Hangor-class submarines. On the other side, however, there is the prospect of securing long-term food stability by using those same billions to…

  • Mobilising the Future: Rapid Deployment and Theatre Readiness

    In May 2025, Operation Sindoor reminded India that future conflicts will demand not only precision strikes and layered air defence, but also the ability to move forces and firepower rapidly across fronts. Theatreisation, now gaining momentum with the activation of the Inter-Services Organisations Act rules and the CDS empowered to issue binding joint orders, is…

  • From Battlefield to Billboards: Winning the War of Perception

    In the 21st century, the side that wins the battle is not always the one that fires the last shot. Increasingly, it is the side that wins the narrative — the story that shapes public consciousness and international opinion. Operation Sindoor in May 2025 was not only a military strike; it was a clash of…