Source: Global Times

India's "Deking Pioneer" and Reuters and other media on Thursday that in order to strengthen the country's air defense capabilities, the Indian military will hold the country's "most-scale" drone exercise in the next month, and conduct combat testing of drones and anti-drone systems.

Several senior Indian officials said the exercise was scheduled for October 6-10 at a base in the central state, with the participation of the Land and Air Force, defense research institutions and related enterprises.

According to Reuters, the exercise will replicate some of the drone combat scenes observed in the conflict in India in May this year. Indian officials said it would be India's largest domestic exercise since the conflict in India. Months ago, the two countries used drone systems (UAS) on a massive scale in the conflict, and both accelerated drone development. Analysts said that this has sparked a "drone arms race".

Dixit, Chief of Staff of India¡¯s Comprehensive Defense Staff, said that drones and anti-drone systems will be part of India¡¯s plans to build a domestic air defense system called the ¡°Suddah mountain Chakra.¡± The Pakistan Today newspaper that the system is planned to be built in 2035 to cover the capabilities of counter-aircraft and high-speed supersonic missiles, and Indian officials have compared it with Israel¡¯s ¡°Iron Dome¡± system. Dixit also acknowledged that Pakistan is also continuing to advance related research and development, ¡°so we must go further and stay ahead.¡±

Image of the "blade" high-altitude drone made by Israel (data map)

British Broadcasting Company previously said that India's drone fleet currently mainly relies on Israeli manufactured reconnaissance drone, cruise missile composition, including "blind" high-air drone, etc. India has reached an agreement worth $ 4 billion with the United States, to introduce 31 U.S.-made "Death" long-haul unified drone.

Extended reading

Pakistani Army Chief of Staff was accused of "issuing a nuclear threat" to India during his visit to the United States, and India responded

Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Army, has recently visited the United States again, during which time he was accused of ¡°sending nuclear threats¡± to India, causing strong discontent in New Delhi.

According to Indian Times and other media reports, on Monday, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal issued a statement saying that "the threat of nuclear weapons is Pakistan's usual trick."

The picture shows Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman randhir jaswal (data map)

India has continued to accuse the Pakistani military of ¡°coalition with terrorist organizations,¡± saying Munir¡¯s nuclear threat remarks question the integrity of the country¡¯s nuclear command and control system.

Jaswal also said that Munir's remarks were made in a "friendly third country", which is equally "regrettable". He stressed that India has made it clear that it will not succumb to the nuclear threat and will continue to take all necessary measures to protect national security.

According to the Pakistani Daily News, the Pakistani side also soon released an official statement that night, dismissing the Indian accusations, calling the Indian Foreign Ministry's remarks "immature" and denouncing its "long-term distortion of facts and disagreement."

The statement said: ¡°India¡¯s allegations of so-called ¡®nuclear blackmail¡¯ are misleading selfish statements.Pakistan firmly opposes the use or threat of the use of force.

The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear-weapon state with a "perfect command and control structure completely controlled by civilians" and always maintains "discipline and restraint" when dealing with such major issues, while the false remarks made by the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are "neither irresponsible nor supported by evidence".

¡°We note that India has made meaningless references to third countries and has tried to put pressure on Pakistan in this way, reflecting not only India¡¯s lack of diplomatic confidence, but also its futile attempt to involve other countries without reason.¡±

Pakistan stated that it will continue to participate in international social affairs in a responsible manner, which is completely different from India's "belligerent and chauvinistic" approach. At the same time, it warned that any violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity by India would receive an "immediate and reciprocal" response. For any ensuing escalation, the blame will be "solely on the Indian leadership".

On August 10, local time, Pakistani Army Chief of Staff Munir met with US Army Chief of Staff Chairman Keane (Arab News Network).

On August 10, local time, the Pakistani military department confirmed that Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Army, Marshal Munir, was visiting the United States.This is also Munir's second visit to the United States in less than two months since June 18.

Subsequently, an exclusive report by Indian media "The Print" claimed that Munir, while attending a closed-door dinner hosted by businessman Adnan Asad, Honorary Consul of Pakistan in Tampa, in Florida, said that if Pakistan faces an existential threat in a future war with India, the region will plunge into nuclear war. "We are a nuclear power, and if we think we are heading for destruction, we will destroy half the world."

"The Print" claimed that this remark was extraordinary and was "the first known time so far that a foreign official has issued a nuclear threat against a third country in the United States." However, the report also mentioned that the guests invited to the dinner were forbidden to carry mobile phones and other digital devices, and the speeches were not made public. The contents of the reports were all from the afterwards memories of several guests present.

According to Indian media reports, sources attending the dinner also revealed that after the nuclear threat, Munir talked about the Indus Water Treaty, believing that India's decision to suspend the treaty may put 250 million people at risk of famine.

In April this year, after the terrorist attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir, India pointed the finger at Pakistan without full investigation and announced a series of counter-measures, including the suspension of the Indus Water Resources Treaty between the two countries, which triggered fierce protests from Pakistan.

In his speech, Munir threatened, "We will wait for India to build the dam, and once it is built, we will destroy it with 10 missiles.The Indian River is not the home of the Indians.Thank God, we do not lack missiles."

However, according to Reuters, Pakistani security officials have selected the contents of Munir¡¯s speech to them, which did not include nuclear threats. In the document, Munir¡¯s remarks are: ¡°The (India¡¯s) aggression has pushed the region to the dangerous edge of escalation, and any bilateral conflict caused by misjudgment would be a serious mistake.¡±

During the trip, Munir met John Daniel Caine, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, and attended the retirement ceremony of U.S. Central Command commander Michael E. Kurilla, and witnessed the ceremony of transferring his duties to Brad Cooper.

According to the report, Munir¡¯s visit to the United States marked an improvement in relations between Pakistan and the United States.In addition, Trump¡¯s tariffs on Pakistani imports were relatively low, at 19 percent, compared to other countries in the region, such as Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.

In response to India, because of the conflict in India and Pakistan and tariff contradictions, the relationship with the U.S. has been sharply downgraded.In May, U.S. President Trump has repeatedly boasted that he has used tariff trade issues to persuade India to cease the fire, has aroused Indian dissatisfaction.

On June 18th, on the same day that Trump invited Indian Prime Minister Modi to visit the United States by telephone, he met Munir at the White House and had a private lunch with him. Under normal circumstances, the president of the United States will not have dinner with foreign military leaders, but Trump "makes an exception" for Pakistan. Modi "politely" rejected Trump's invitation to visit the United States.

On August 6, local time, Trump signed an executive order to impose an additional 25% tariff on India on the grounds that it purchased Russian energy through "direct or indirect means". As a result, the overall tariff rate of the United States on India has reached 50%, which is also the highest tariff imposed by the United States on all its trading partners. Analysts pointed out that Trump's move marked the "worst decline" in US-India relations since he returned to the White House in January this year.