The real Top Gun

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18 thoughts on “The real Top Gun”

  1. Shiv,
    You wouldn’t mind adding that in the Movie “Top Gun” the incidents which take place in the Indian Ocean, the alleged enemy is supposed to be India.

    Russia doesn’t deploy land based or Carrier borne fighters in this region, there is no other military powers here which have the capability to challenge the US Navy. Mind you this movie was after the 1971 war, where the US 7th Fleet headed by the USS Enterprise (Shown in the movie) entered the war zone with an implicit threat to India.

  2. Last anon…as if Shiv went for yesterday’s breifing keeping all these details in mind. He went for chai-biskoot, dahi-bhalla, matthhi-achaar, kaafee etc.

    Who is interested in stories…look at the silly shit story filed that everyone including Shiv has filed…why didnt anyone ask him or try finding out why has he come here, who all will he meet, what will he do here etc.

    Everyone is after sensation….the senior naval officers are laughing at the juvenile stories…I spoke to one this morning to find out why is Willard here, and he mocked at the pieces which have come out today in newspapers, with bylines…atleast Sridhar didn’;t take a byline!

  3. last anon. it’s sour grapes for you it appears. i heard about the press briefing myself and shiv happened to ask the only question that provided any peg for this admiral story. the rest was trash, because he did not say anything significant. shiv, don’t listen to these boors. good question you asked. provided the peg for most of the papers that carried the story today.

  4. So what? That was in 1971, this is now. You know, in most other free democratic countries, the government and population of the whole country and cast and crew of the movie are not held accountable for the plot-writing of the screenwriter.

  5. OK, I am the First Anon. (Anon 1 henceforth)

    If Shiv has to Gush at a story-nonstory, and go ga-ga over a hollywood movie that he saw when he was a school kid, then it is only right that today when he is more mature, he will put things in equal perspective.

    This is a problem with journalists in india, they are so taken in by Phorein people and the saliva flow oh-so-like-a-waterfall at the chai-biskoot that they fail to ask the hard questions that need to be asked. Either they are dhimmies or delibrately want to keep their readers dhimmis, the buck stops with them.

    In this case, I don’t mind this interesting bit of trivia on Admiral Willard being in the Movie, however for the sake of balance, please never forget to remind everyone what history India and United States have had – more so at the verge of India’s greatest Victory.

    We must know each world power by the history they have had with our own nation, Self interest is one thing that is understandable, but what happened in ’71 must be remembered for eternity. As to what extent should that one incident should be taken into account in our dealilngs with the US is left to the powers that be, but it is necessary for a journalist to educate and inform – and let the people be the judge.

  6. Anon at 7.28 pm….sour grapes for me???????? why??

    Shiv I genuinely want to know why is he here? Find out and tell me please

  7. anon@9:01 PM “Shiv I genuinely want to know why is he here? Find out and tell me please”

    Admiral Willard said they would record a further fillip if the two inked pacts like the End-Use Verification Agreement (EUVA), the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA).

    Note the ‘if’, in his statement. He is pitching for Indian taxpayers investment and money into “US based products” to be under the American control, the US Congress and the purview of sanctions. With regard to when/where/if we can use these hangar queens incase of an eventuality, if wish to act independently.

    Now is the time to get it signed as the UPA is on its way out, and piling on the pressure. Now if the PM doesn’t return due to his health issues.

    India should be wary of EUVA. As they have already said India cannot sell LCA without their consent, if the F114 engine is chosen.

  8. If you go by that logic, the Welsh should be trying to push the Anglo-Saxons out of the UK and Britain should have entered the war on the German side.
    Realpolitiks demands that we evaluate each situation in terms of the appropriate context. If we’re talking about buying US hardware, yes, by all means we should take into account the way the US law works and how US public opinion affects the decisions of the government. But when it comes to needlessly agitating a poor old admiral (who never commanded the Enterprise anyway) visiting India to offer his country’s help with an investigation into terrorism, I’m going to defer to Pauli and say ‘so bad it’s not even wrong’!

  9. Anon 10:02 AM

    D-uh! The admiral is helping with the investigation into terrorism ??? Are you sure about what you’ve written? What’s next – NASA’s Mars mission commander to come down to Mumbai to investigate terrorism?

    He has come here for Chai-Biskoot with our own Admirals, to let the good times flow, so that the next time military hardware needs to be bought, our admirals can go to GOI and say that DRDO’s maal sucks and American Maal is great – because the users of American maal are completely satisfied. (It is worth remembering that the users of American defence goods – the US Military are the best salesmen of their defence industry – the Much feared American Military – Industrial Complex)

    The typical way in which the american system works is by relentless marketing and cajoling of the potential buyer by such exchanges at high and mid level and by direct sales pitch by the arms agents.

    Neither are the much vaunted “Interoperability” exercises any better. These are to allow familiarity with american goodies, so that sales can follow.

    The other side of the coin is that the Military Bosses in India will ask for all the Hi-Fi and incidentally the most expensive Phorein Maal – which the Government will gleefully authorize (wink-wink). To hell with the common soldier in the far off border post or the sailor 300 meters under the sea in an outdated submarine.

    This is completely shameful that currently the personal gear worn by the Srilankan army in its current assault on the LTTE is much superior to the one worn by their Indian counterparts. Notice the Helmets and Body Armour worn by the Srilankans – all Chinese supplied BTW, and compare with the Kevlar Patkas worn by our boys and the lack of Body Armour on the average infantry soldier.

    It is this simple onlee – let us keep Top Gun and terrorism and partnership in fighting a war, out of this.

    Regards
    Anon 1

  10. @ anon 7:45pm
    the kelvar patkas hav been found to be much more protective than a helmet,during IED blasts;is much lighter in weight due to use of composites and can take direct hits from an AK-47 (7.62mm bullets) which a helmet cannot…and the patkas are worn only by troops involved in COIN ops…others soldiers are issued PAGST helmets.

  11. Are the Kevlar Patkas backed by metal plating? If not how can you claim that it can survive an assault rifle round?
    The last time I checked, they don’t have the abovementioned feature, while they are better than nothing at all and much better than a Motorcycle helmet.

  12. anon @ 8:59 am
    ask the manufacturers and their clients if you don’t believe me…I have seen a patka which took a headshot ,yet the bullet did not penetrate it.

  13. What kind of bullet?
    Kevlar by itself can protect against a low velocity blunt tipped bullet – the type fired off a pistol.
    A metal backing is needed for it to withstand the High velocity bullets coming off an assault rifle.

    When Hemant Karkare were wearing bullet proof vests and still the bullets penetrated the kevlar, everyone said that the vests were defective. No one has yet managed to ask this simple question – Police forces are NOT routinely issued metal backed vests for protection against high velocity bullets, simply because in an urban setting the police do not expect to encounter assault rifles in the hands of criminals. There is a weight disadvantage to metal backed vests.
    This is why the police realised within a few minutes of the Mumbai assault that their protection was ill equipped to handle what the terrorists had to throw at them.
    In the west, the police forces have shifted to newer lightweight vests that can withstand High velocity rounds. We need to do the same.
    And for gods sake equip our police and our armed forces with similar stylish modern uniforms – they all look like mercenaries, where everone seems to have a different camo / jacket / sweater, rather than a well disciplined force.

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