I am not given to being rude or hurtful, but it is difficult to read your response without laughing out loud. There is a huge disconnect between what you have written and reality, and this disconnect will come and become a disagreeable shock one day. I sincerely advise you, for the sake of your mental equanimity, to reduce the gap between what you have written and reality, if you are not already aware of things as they stand.
Joe Shearer said:
If you go back through your own columns, you will see for yourself how one step at a time critics of Indian indigenous programmes have gone from hilarious incredulity, to doubting, carping criticism marked by outright lies and embellishment of time and cost figures, to challenges to see what would happen in the field, to increasingly shriller doubts about the equipment being adopted by the armed forces, down to aimless sniping like your present post. This applies to the Arjuna, the Tejas, the Dhruva, the ship-building programme, the Arihant, the Akash, and no doubt as many other programmes as you get to figure out.
Original Post By Joe Shearer
BATMAN said:
Glad to see that you can see the spin!!! selective though......
Joe Shearer said:
Not difficult; it was spinning so hard it spun right back on you. Things tend to attract attention when they behave like that.
I call it fact... if you had LCA-TEJA available than why would you go for hornet??
Joe Shearer said:
As approximately a half-dozen people have already advised you, it is because we need to replace the very large numbers of MiG-21s in our inventory with light interceptors, again in large numbers. The MMRCA is needed to fill a gap between the heavy air superiority/ strike aircraft, the MKI, and the Tejas. Something, in other words, that will replace the Jaguars, the Mirage2000s and MiG-23/MiG-27 inventories.
We have not selected the F/A 18 SuperHornet yet. It is one of six types under consideration, and only one, perhaps two, are likely to be selected.
Which part of this explanation do you find difficult to follow? I am willing to repeat it at slow speed; if that doesn't work, we could try it together with simple, easy words that don't make your head ache.
BATMAN said:
Same goes with Arjun, nag, trishol etc....
Joe Shearer said:
You might try checking the voluminous information available in this forum itself to see for yourself that these are now being deployed in serving units.
BATMAN said:
I'm sorry if truth hurts you but if those adoption were as sweet as you believe than nationalist indians must have had thier heads spined for shifting to US wepons and a/c.
Joe Shearer said:
The truth has never been seen as an enemy, or as a hostile force acting against us, or causing sorrow. Our ability to cope with poverty and to bring in growth has been supported by our willingness to accept the truth, and change our ways when necessary.
You will be surprised how much this can achieve. I sincerely hope that one day, this realisation will become more widespread, and that some of our friends will stop hiding behind fictitious victories in the past, and feverish hopes for the future.
As a matter of fact, we haven't shifted to US weapons and aircraft where we didn't have a specific need that was met by those aircraft. Let me remind you, since apparently you specialise in the grand, sweeping gesture untrammeled by any detail.
We have bought AWACS aircraft, basically a US aircraft fitted out with an Israelli electronic suite, the Phalcon suite. The Phalcon suite is also being supplied in even larger numbers than these initial half a dozen purchases on smaller, non-US aircraft.
We have bought maritime reconnaissance and patrol aircraft with loitering capabilities and with an extensive suite of electronics and armaments, to fill the increasing pressure on the Indian Navy, and the need to heighten our defences. These are the latest US aircraft, whose match is not available elsewhere.
We have bought both the C130 and the C17 aircraft, as they are likely to be far more efficient and capable than some of our existing inventory.
In all three of these cases, we have invested in heavy aircraft, as we do not have an indigenous heavy aircraft programme available. These programmes are in the planning, and in days to come, even these imports will not be necessary. The outstanding technology offered by the Israelis may still be necessary, as it is difficult to match the skills that they have built through decades of hard struggle against overwhelming odds. Other countries frequently claim that they too have faced hard struggle against overwhelming odds; one just has to compare the performance of the two to learn which is the real thing and which a plastic-bottomed fake.
We have also bought an LPD, a marine vessel which has never been in inventory before, because the role for which it is designed was not needed ever before. Now that it is needed, we are acquiring these ships. You may look to see our warship building programme to understand that once our fighting vessel needs are met, or once there is surplus capacity, we can take on these other vessels as well.
None of our weaponry is American. Period. They have made tempting offers for 155 mm howitzers. If purchased, that may be an innovation. Meanwhile, building indigenous 155 mm howitzers is under planning.
Joe Shearer said:
Apparently you are a very senior member, and I presume, without any evidence one way or the other, that you have been part of that pack that I described. I condole you on facing the end of your hopes, and being forced to see one by one each and everyone of these programmes getting into field service. That must be gall and wormwood to you, especially when you have to face the spectacle of your own armed forces stepping down in stages from the glorious days when the Americans brought in the best in armour, in artillery, in doctrine, in aircraft and in every field of military equipment imaginable - I nearly forgot the frequent upgrades of surface craft that you got from them. In a sense, it is sad to see how the army now settles for a second rate tank because it cannot afford anything better, the airforce forced to cherish its clutch of F16s and forego its dreams of acquiring contemporary technology, and settle for many, cheap aircraft, the navy scratching around for enough resource to avoid the day when its senior officers reported sick to avoid having to sail out against an enemy looking for blood, all of this because over 30 years of military rule has cripppled your economy and left you with nothing but a jaundiced attitude and a feeling of envy and inadequacy.
BATMAN said:
If you are bothered with number of my posts than i can't help you because you fail to see that it is a Pakistani forum and is a platform for Pakistanis to put forward other side of the story.
On the contrary, I have respect for someone who has contributed so much. I would have even more respect if your contributions were better thought out, and not prone to inspire laughter.
It is difficult to fail to see that
Pakistan Defence is a Pakistani forum; as a matter of curiousity, many of us have noticed this in the past. I would hazard a guess and say perhaps all of us have guessed this in the past. It may have been that the information was sent around from person to person off-forum, but suffice it to say that we probably all know. I have no comment about this business of putting forward the other side of the story, as I have seen it, and used it only to discuss military history and matters related to military analysis.
To be honest, fanboy games, of the sort where I am forced to respond to suggestions based on superstition and jingoism, rather than logic and a rational outlook, bore me. This thread, of course, is undoubtedly getting boring, but it is necessary not to abandon the argument for selfish reasons, and plead that it is not interesting to argue with those who are both ill-informed and maladroit.
BATMAN said:
Stop gauging our hopes... it is indian army who's hopes are down... perhaps preparing for the show down!!!!
I can assure you that morale in the Indian Army is high, and the increasing numbers being recruited and trained also indicates to our soldiers that their role in the country's future has been assessed and is being addressed.
BATMAN said:
It is interesting that this superstition, based on the non-fact that the Mayan calendar has no provision for dates after 2012, has gripped your imagination. Why this should mean anything special to an educated person is difficult to understand. Why anyone should pay heed to an uneducated person labouring in the grip of superstition is also difficult to understand.
BATMAN said:
See idea of Ghzwa hind has sent shivers don the indian spines.... and trust me these arms will not save you from the inevitable.
Not even the cold start.. not even the first nuke use policy.
The so-called Ghazwa-e-Hind was never something that sent a shiver down any spine, but it was the kind of religious bigotry which is difficult to counter. If you think that anyone takes this nonsense seriously, you really need some professional help. Nobody that I know of is willing to spend any time on these fanciful notions, or on preparations of a mythical war based on a dubious projection. While you while away your time on these speculations, we are getting on with rearming ourselves.
Incidentally, I should have expected someone with 6,334 posts to his credit to know that India has a NO-first-use nuclear policy. However, that last statement may have been somewhat judgmental; perhaps it is only natural not to know this deep, well-kept secret.
BATMAN said:
Further more your posts is off topic rants.... and will spark a debate which you can't digest...so for this one time.... i refrain from sending you a befitting note on achievements of your army.....
It is difficult to understand what was off-topic about my post; your statements may scare a scrubby little schoolboy, but it is somewhat humiliating to think that people should think that it is possible to scare me with these weird statements.
However, please do not let my extreme youth and gross lack of experience inhibit you; please do forward a befitting note on the achievements of our army. Please note that my Urdu is poor, so you will regrettably have to strain yourself and write several English sentences in quick succession. You must assure us all that you will under no circumstances risk your health.
Joe Shearer said:
Keep screaming your head off about failures; meanwhile, even as you shout yourself hoarse trying to convince yourself, tanks, aircraft, helicopters, ships, missiles are all getting operational. Some day, no doubt, you will stop saying things because saying such things will seem ridiculous even to you. Until then, please continue; things sometimes get too serious on this forum, and somebody to provide comic relief is sorely needed. Thank you for such relief; you are doing a great job.
Good for you... but i can't stop laughing...
by operational perhaps you mean in labs or drawing boards.. or presentations...
You need to convince your army to buy those operational stuff rather than copying Pakistan armed forces in all areas.
Actually, my Army has been very ill-behaved and inconsiderate of my feelings. They have already adopted major equipment such as the Arjuna and the Dhruva; the Akash is now coming up for massive numbers to be deployed throughout the country.
After what you have said, I will take it up with General Singh to ensure that I am consulted before anything, even an elementary thing is done in future.