First Indian C-130J To Start Flight Testing Soon

Photo Courtesy IndiaStrategic

35 thoughts on “First Indian C-130J To Start Flight Testing Soon”

  1. After hearing about wiki-leaks v can't trust US anymore…
    i think india should destabilize pak….by supplying used t-72 tanks, pinaka mbrl,battle field radars developed by drdo and many other military infrastructures like missile command center wid a army regiment staying in afghanisthan,building airbases etc… and use it wen ever it is needed by india….this will strength afghan army as well as improve its relation wid india…if v dont do this v r gona face a huge threat wen US taks bak its forces from afghan and taliban cums to power der…

    And the same thing can be done wid china by supplying to taiwan…here we can supply them brahmos missile, akshak sam,radars etc….

    Bcoz no other country will help wen we are at war….so we should create more stronger enemy country's aganist pak and china…this will not only destabilize these countries but maintain regional balance…

  2. Wishful thinking but quite right. Trust US only to provide quality hardware and nothing else. US and for that matter any other country will not solve India's problems. If India cant take care of pakistan (which ever way) then no one else will. The recent resignation of the Jap PM is a gud case study in this regard.

    Cecx Fable & Gas

  3. Relevent question is, with all those made in USA agreements due to be signed how can we cheer roll out or whatever related to C-130Js, P-8Is and all related products?

  4. Quality is of no use if you need permission to use it and sign a dozen agreements(EUM, CISMOA, JUNKMOA….) tying yourself up. If you think otherwise then why not dare sell something outside EUM,cismoa etc?

  5. @ INDIAN

    Do you knw what is the cost of running a foreign military base?

    India has a very very small economy and military budget is tiny compared to US. so don't try to compare with what they are doing. Sometime back, US has offered India to come forward and take charge of military in Afghanistan with them. One of the reasons we refused is cost also.

    We have a lot of things to do to in Indian Military , forget about settling full scale foreign bases. We should concentrate on improving our military capabilities, expanding comes after that

  6. If India sends her forces to Afghanistan, it will be another Srilanka.
    Afghan War cannot be won militarily. It can be won only by winning the hearts and minds of Afghans who should see the current War on Terror on their favor. For this to happen, a large educated middle class is required, who will have a moderating influence on a largely illiterate feudal society.
    Current discovery of large deposits of minerals and natural gas/oil will create large number of jobs and kick start the economy of Afghanistan. Exploitation of minerals will require setting up offices and corporations. It is here that India can contribute to the maximum both as an investor and consumer. This will bolster India's soft power and thus create more leverage than what we have now.
    The above will also lead to rapid urbanization of large parts of Afghanistan. This will make fundamental changes to the society and stymie the influence of radical forces.

  7. Just want to take a moment and thank folks who give their comments here. I thoroughly enjoy reading them… keep them coming 🙂

  8. stupid suggestions indian..Distabilize pak & china by putting t72 in afghan??Really!!!…As one suggested its too expensive & if we destabilize pak,what makes u think afghanistan will be any more stable??what if our weapons fall into wrong hands..it could be used against us…Destabilizing any nation is a stupid move..if any one country gets destabilized,it destabilizes the nations next to it…

  9. @ INDIAN
    not wishing to engage in a flame war quite simply the logistic effort required to pull off such an operation would bankrupt our country.
    Secondly there is nothing wrong in expressing an opinion it should just be controlled. I would like nothing better to see pakistan go the way of the dinosaurs but we hat to think that paradoxically it is the isi and the pakistan military that is the last thing that is stopping the pakistani nuclear bombs going whole sale as they need control of the nuclear assets in order to remain relevant.
    Holding ground in afghanistan has proved difficult for the most technologically and logistically sophisticated militarie's of their times. The afghan army and police force is just a show they will disband 5 days after the withdrawal of NATO forces they are not interested in having a nation their society is tribal in nature like ours but the tribalism goes much deeper and is much much more contentious. We have been facing a huge threat since the creation of pakistan and red china these things manifested them selves more them 50 years ago. The only key is comprehensive military modernization with no holds barred spending to improvement soldier quality, training and equipment.
    Lastly I agree that no other country will help and we must stand our selves, but don't be this wary while no one will come charging to our aid we still have friends few but hopefully firm.

    post script fix your grammar syntax is wrong in some places and spellings could be improved cheers and have a nice day.

  10. Why does every one of these aricles turn into an Anti-UK/UK/France etc. bashing fest? Very illogical reasons they give too, people are practically scouring the newspapers to look for reasons to direct their pent-up anger westwards.

    Newsflash; articles have been running in Indian and international media for years that the US knows about Pakistan's terror support but keeps quiet on it because some support is better than no support, and having nukes means invading them like Iraq isn't really an option anymore.

    How about we focus on this plane instead? Personally I think India made a big mistake in not partnering with Brazil for the C-295 transport plane project. It has technological advancements comparable to the C-130 and is already in production whereas the much-vaunted Indo-Russian MTA is nowhere to be seen.

  11. The directions of these leaks may indicate that later or sooner Taliban is going to take over Afghanistan and Pakistan.

    In the case of such eventuality India shall revert back to at least supporting the Northern Alliance of Afghanistan again by all means.

  12. Whatever , just look at this – signed , sealed and to be delivered in time. However much we may foam at the mouth about American duplicity in being 'friendly' with the "international migraine" (Madeline ALbright), we cant deny the fact this contract is more or less on schedule unlike the long delayed Gorsh-cow from our "traditional ally.

  13. @KVR,

    There is no big deal about it being on time. This is regular production run of a plane type already sold before numerous times and not an R&D project or some highly customised stuff of never-seen-before type. Keep the marketing BS to yourself.

  14. Right KVR. Mi-17 transport helos had price doubled AFTER the contract was signed, India-Russia 'partnership' MTA plane is still on the drawing board and of course, the legendary Gorkshkov saga. What are these West-hating leftists proposing as an alternative?

  15. @Gautam,
    Those are not leftists but they are independence loving people who will not accept modern formats of Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance System proposed in bits and pieces in new avatars EUMA, CISMOA …….

    This has nothing to do with economic models socialism or capitalism. It is about hard won sovereignity that people like you are willing to surrender at the earliest.

  16. Daanish,
    Why are you so rude to Indian?
    Just because you know a few big words does not make you superior. All he did was express his opinion. What is the matter with you? Stop bashing people up and think about how to make the country the greatest.

  17. @ Anon 7:45PM

    In that case those folk are sorely misguided. Making friends with someone or joining an alliance does not mean giving up your sovereignty; the NATO members don't have to bow to Uncle Sam's every beck and call and are indeed, at disagreement with the US on many subjects. It's not the same as Pakistan's servile dependency on China.

    If they are concerned about making diplomatic concessions due to friendship with the US, isn't that compromise part of a friendship? Likewise we support Israel in its disputes and military adventures against the Arab nations because of our stategic alliance, and support China's claim over Tibet out of desire to maintain their approval on Sikkim.

  18. INDIAN is free to express his opinion. But we cannot destabilise pak by sending troops. We need the intelligence agencies to do that. I hope they are doing that.. balochistan should attain freedom making pak even weaker.

  19. @Gautam,
    Only you are misguided. Which is the nation that interferes the most with our sovereign decisions, whether it is Agni-5 or our handling of our terrorists, maoists (human rights thru NGOs saving terrorists at every beck & call)? Yes that is unkil. Once we get into its hold then we will know.
    Please read up about UK's chinooks that became unusable because they tried to have operational sovereignity by trying to crack open the code controlling it. Also please read up about UK's complaints about F-35's source code not being open source. And this is unkil's closest ally complaining with regards to sovereignity.

  20. I've read. And I also know that despite these the UK isn't going to stop depending on American stuff(like F-35) anytime soon. Because they may attach more strings than others but their stuff is the best, the most reliable, the cheapest to operate and the easiest to upgrade.

    And what do the dime-a-dozen NGOs, Human Rights Groups and self-proclaimed activists like Arundhati Roy and Medha Patkar have anything to do with US policy? More often than not they're also on the receiving end of criticism from these parties.

  21. @Gautam,
    Obviously UK won't buy from Russia. It turns to unkil and itself for its procurements.

    Mentioned NGOs because it is unkil that props them up to put hurdles for our decisive actions for maintaining integrity.

    Best is of no use unless it is in your control. This is called basics.
    Only an idiot would want to fall into mercy of a nation that asked us to delay Agni-3 and block agni-5 which are our must-haves against the dragon. It has blocked everything that we want to develop for our defence. Stop acting so naive.

  22. @Gautam,

    Even Subsidiary Alliance was an "alliance" and those who advised princely states to join the alliance also spoke like you. The result is well-known. These days you have virtual-imperialism exercised through cronies

  23. Where from does the idea of subsidiary alliance come? Just as these countries depend on US the latter also depends on them for support on various economical, political and military matters. It's a mutually beneficial alliance.

    If you want to call this subsidiary you may as well say the same for India's dependence and vulnerability towards Russia in the defence sphere.

    And Agni and the rest of our nuclear and missile programs are constantly opposed not only by US but also UK, France, China and most of the 100+ NPT nations(Australia,Canada et al) since they are by law and policy obliged to discourage us. I do not like that policy but it is a fact of life. But where did you get the proof that US alone blocked the Agni-5 with malicious intent?

    And there's no evidence whatsoever that th US is funding the same groups that sling mud at its policies to sling at India also; that's just conspiracy theories. Nor do they have anything to gain from such a thing.

  24. De stabilizing Pakistan will not be needed. They are already de stabilized. We have to think of strategies to counter China. Although the Porkis seem to be our Enemy No 1 China is by far our biggest threat.
    P.S. Heard somewhere that India does not have control in the north eastern states of the country. China has made deep inroads there. Please can anyone confirm that?

  25. praneetbahpaie,

    That's a funny example you give, because it only proves my point about needless anti-US stances. The problem here is India refusing to sign a basic agreement that all nations buying US equipment sign. And it's not even about US control, they already have that control by virtue of being the ones supplying spare parts; all they want is INTER-OPERABILITY in communications(which is necessary to facilitate joint missions and the like) with Indian armed forces. In a sense, this is an offer of friendship being rebuffed by us.

  26. Gautam,
    You don't seem to see reality the way it should be seen. If you want us to sell ourselves to the Americans and limit our sovereignty to them, it is a different matter, if you are a patriot, as you claim to be, please stop with this America appeasement policy of yours. You need to realize one thing, America will never be on our side. Please get that into that thick skull of yours.

  27. Gautam cannot explain why a nation that apparently wants to help you by forming an "alliance" has STILL kept your crucial institutions under sanctions !!!!!!!!!

    One could care less for some Papua New Guinea and 100+nations holding placards of protest against Agni-V but to apply repeated pressure to scuttle it talks a lot about the nations' desire to "help" us.

  28. praneet, you are the one with an armoured skull and narrow-minded mentality.

    Why don't you face up to the harsh reality that our current money-based relationship with Russia is unsustainable and we need some powerful Western allies?

    And still crying about denial of critical technologies? I'm not exactly happy about it either but that is mandated by international laws that America maintains towards a lot of nations besides us. For example Brazil couldn't buy nuclear submarine reactor tech from France due to NSG limitations, South Korea couldn't buy Tomahawk missiles from its Navy due to MTCR rules and so on. It's not just the US that will balk at these, don't point fingers selectively just to serve your agenda.

  29. @Gautam who said we need allies…,

    What was China's defence tech position before it became economic giant? It had tiff with a much powerful US even then despite all those WW2 fighters in inventory. How did it manage?

    It had icbm tipped with nuke. If strategic inventory is sufficiently full then the rest can be handled without ANY alliances.

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