With the militarisation of aeroplane, air threat emerged as a new dimension of warfare. It assumed serious proportions once the bombs were unleashed upon the unsuspecting population. By Second World War, bombing from air became key to victory. It also resulted in death to millions, both military and civil. The cataclysmic destruction by atom bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki eventually gave way to the Doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction. It meant that nuclear arsenal was only to deter but not to be used. Because the use of large number of nukes at one time totaling around 30,000 would have meant a certain end to mankind. Into the above spectre of threat, new offensive weapons in the form of conventional missiles, armed UAVs, cruise missiles, antiship missiles, stand off precision weapons and cyber attacks have been added in the last few decades. Threat from air has widened in scope and become even more decisive in outcome of conflicts. Air Defence too evolved along with newer air threats; often in compartments. But the current threats demand a more comprehensive and cohesive air defence, both, for defence effectiveness as well as cost effectiveness. This book is an analytical study towards this goal.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR A K Tiwary
Air Vice Marshal A.K. Tiwary, VSM was commissioned in the Indian Air Force (IAF) as a fighter pilot. He served as a ground based Forward Air Controller During the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict. His flying hours, over 4100, are mostly on Russian fighters and include about 2000 hours of instructional flying. He commanded a MiG-29 Squadron in late 1980s. His command and staff appointments like Chief Operations Officer at a major Wing, operational planning at command level, Director Concept Studies at Air Headquarters, Command of a major flying base, head of the Training Team (Air) at Defence Services Staff College and Senior Directing Staff (Air) at National Defence College, have conferred a rich practical experience. The air staff course at Defence Services Staff College Wellington (TN), instructional tenure at the College of Air Warfare Secunderabad, National Defence College New Delhi and Air War Course at the Air University, Maxwell Airbase, Montgomery (USA), all inducted and accelerated his interest in air war studies. He has published many articles in military journals in India and authored two books titled, Attrition in air Warfare and Air Power and Counter Insurgency. Presently he is serving as Air Defence Commander at the prestigious HQ Western Air Command of the IAF. He was awarded the Air Marshal Subroto Mukherjee Chair by the United Service Institution of India, for the year, 2004-2005, to carry out research on Aerospace Defence: A Holistic Appraisal.
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