Kunal Singh

I write about India's ballistic missile submarines for @WarOnTheRocks. I argue that India now has the hardware for continuous at-sea deterrence, but it must adopt flexible operational practices to fully utilize its boomers. warontherocks.com/practice-makes…

Djokovic has the incredible ability to step up his game by a couple of notches, no matter how tired he is or how long the match has already gone on. He just stepped up his game in the final tiebreak after an insane five-hour grind. Unbelievable at his age.

Does the govt spend enough on national security? No. Does the govt spend on defence R&D? No. Does it pursue atma-nirbharta in defence? No. Does the govt defend Indian interests abroad? Largely no. But what does it do for national security? This 👇

@VatsRishap @suryakane When the US asked India to bend, the Govt of India crawled.

@suryakane Accepting mediation of any kind should be entirely unacceptable, esp when done to simply humour a hostile regime with little or non concern for Indian interests or sensitivities.

Ram Madhav of the RSS and former Army Chief Naravane were a part of the Track-II meeting in Colombo with Pakistan, organised by a British think tank. US Undersecretary of State for South Asia, Paul Kapur, joined the participants in Colombo too, for a special dinner.

@PaliwalAvi @htTweets Thanks, Avinash! My list of 5 is v diff: 1. Invest in drone manufacturing 2. Invest in satellite ISR 3. Disperse, hide, delegate when facing a stronger rival 4. No cheap victory with airpower alone 5. Diplomacy cannot give you a victory that you didn’t extract on the battlefield

India’s tacit, but unambiguous, partiality towards the losers of the US-Israel-Iran war has been a costly error of judgment. if it wants to be respected as a big power, it needs to step to the responsibility that comes with it in my @htTweets column I list 5 lessons for Delhi

A US official read out the text of the US-Iran memorandum of understanding to journalists on a conference call. Here is a gift link to the full text from the @nytimes. Let the analysis begin. nytimes.com/2026/06/17/us/…

FWIW, this was tested in Pahalgam.

I was quoted in a @SCMPNews article today in the context of Indian sailors being killed in kinetic action by the US Navy. I emphasize that India's inability to invest in defence manufacturing at home has created vulnerabilities, which the US is exploiting. scmp.com/news/china/dip…

When it comes to defence R&D, the case for public funding is even clearer. National security is a public good. Private sector companies producing defence goods are heavily regulated in what they can make and who they can sell to. Hence, R&D costs must be borne by the government.

In India, a lot of people blame the private sector for not spending enough on research. In this clip below, MIT president is explaining why research must be funded by the government. Scientific research is a case of market failure, necessitating public funding.

@Ahlawat2012 The timing of the piece is off —it comes at a time when 🇮🇳's SSBN force is growing stronger, and 🇨🇳's ASW capabilities remain unknown. Only 🇺🇸 has something approaching damage-limitation capabilities. Even against 🇺🇸, hiding, mobile TELs, decoys, etc., are potent counters.

The original author made the argument that- India is ill prepared to deal with a 'counter force' nuclear-strike, in terms of doctrine and needed review. The central assumption was that we don't have survivable second strike capabilities that would deter any rational actor. Superficially correct- the study needed greater deliberations into likely adversaries and escalation matrix. Counter-force / damage-limitation strikes appear much later in the escalation ladder. China would have no apparent advantage of launching a counter-force-strike, if it can tilt the scales using conventional means. Pakistan doesn't have the means to launch a successful counter-force strike against India. Under no imaginable scenario, they can take out all the vectors.

I do think that India needs to reformulate its nuclear doctrine. However, the biggest threat to its doctrine is not a damage-limitation strike but a major conventional attack from 🇨🇳. Also, it is not that difficult to deter a damage-limitation strike under the current doctrine.

@Akshay_VAK Something is under review 🤞

The strategic interests of India and the US do not converge. This has been clear for the last four years. Some people who believe in a simplistic application of structural realism, according to which both countries have a common rival in China,... 1/8

@clary_co My point is addressed to Indians: do not think of the US as a partner to deal with the China threat. The US will extract a large cost from India and its commitment to dealing with the China threat wavers a lot.

@d_extrovert Is your argument that structural realism is wrong or is your argument that the Chinese threat is insufficient to generate the side payments that India was hoping for in the partnership?

When empirics don't align with your theory, switch to another theory. Don't just wait and hope the empirics will eventually come around. In any case, after much waiting and hoping, the empirics still don't align, and India-US ties keep plumbing new depths. 8/8

Judge the US by its actions, not by words. And certainly don't simplistically apply structural realism and assume that the US and India have such a great common interest in balancing China that it will trump everything else. 7/8