2 mangoes with 1 stone

It is intuitive that China supporting Pakistan militarily is bad for India.

But, this problem can also be viewed as an opportunity from a counter-intuitive point of view.

War and weapons is a continuous cat and mouse game. The one with superior strategies, weapons, technologies, tactics and coordination will win any day.

By engaging and dominating the Pakistan armed forces which use a lot of Chinese weaponry, India has learnt and needs to overpower specific weapons and their features/ advantages.

For example, if one particular weapon like Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air to air missile has a 100km range, India only needs to arm itself to a better range than 100 km to make the enemy weapon ineffective in an air to air combat.

If it has a 50 km Howitzer, we need to have a 60 km Howitzer to not enable it to come in range at all (unless already deployed).

This way, we can choose to make / procure weapons with better features that can beat the all in one competitor (Chinese weapons) rather than trying to dominate over 4 different countries' different weapons and their systems.

Chili Bombs

Reports indicate that military experts in Assam, India, have developed a grenade made using the world's hottest chilli, which is more than 1,000 times stronger than the average cooking spice.
"The chilli grenade is a non-toxic weapon and when used would force a terrorist to come out of his hideout," said lead scientist R.B. Srivastava from India's Defence Research and Development Organisation.
"The effect is so pungent that it would literally choke them," he added.
The hotness of the bhut jolokia, which is native to Assam, in north-east India, is measured in Scoville heat units and comes in at a massive 1,001,304, which is nearly twice as hot as Mexico's red savina that used to hold the record at 577,000.
The average jalapeno measures at about 10,000. 

 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Indian-military-experts-develop-grenade-using-worlds-hottest-chilli/articleshow/5705543.cms

India's opportunity

According to this article:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News-by-Industry/India-cancels-1-bn-helicopter-tender/articleshow/4310388.cms
the cost of 22 military attack helicopters is $1billion. Or that is Rs.227 cr per helicopter at the current exchange rate of Rs50/USD. Phew! $45million per copter. Instead of spending this kind of money to buy quality arms, can't the government pull up one good great person who is given all the powers to run the company with the high reward if the target is met to start a govt. agency to do all the research and come up with something brilliant in the coming years. Also, looking at the serial "future weapons" on Discovery, I have always wondered why doesn't India just copy the ideas or make the special machines for the requirements as mentioned in the serial. India too has minefields at the border- a machine that blasts the mines and still goes ahead taking on more mines. India also wants a shore attack capability- a amphibious vehicle that can carry people and can convert itself into a tank once it reaches the shore. India too has hostage situations - a device that will penetrate the wall/steel enclosure and then blast inside or throw scrapnel inside the building killing/disabling everyone inside. These are all machines and weapons I have seen in the serial and I think if India can make these and export them, it will find a way of making money and also generate employment. After all, who is not interested in making a high end weapon intended to kill the enemies!

Bullet proof vests made of gels?

Introducing the gel-filled army helmet that will crush bullets as they penetrate it

By Matthew Hickley

On the face of it a layer of orange jelly may not sound the best way to protect a soldier's head from high velocity bullets and shrapnel.

But the British Army's standard-issue combat helmet is set to be upgraded with a liner made from gooey miracle gel, which responds to a sudden impact by locking instantly into a solid form - absorbing huge amounts of energy harmlessly.

A UK-based technology company was today celebrating a £100,000 contract from the Ministry of Defence to develop its D3O shock-absorbing gel to help save the lives of British troops fighting on the frontline in Afghanistan.

Richard Palmer, CEO of Blue Divine Ltd, with 'D3O' shock-absorbing material which will be used to line new British Army helmets

The MoD also unveiled its long-term technology plans today and showed off a series of gadgets which could be used on the battlefield of the future.

The gadgets include a 'Future Protected Vehicle', or tank, and futuristic-looking battleships, helicopters and planes.

A highly magnified examination of 'D30' the miracle substance that hardens on impact

The advanced nano-technology of the D3O shock-absorbing gel relies on the bizarre properties shown by 'intelligent molecules' under extreme pressure.

It is already in use in a range of sports and ski wear featuring flexible knee pads or soft hats which instantly stiffen into protective layers when a skier or snowboarder hits the ground hard.

Now the same technology is destined for use in war zones.

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Scientists are pushing ahead with design and testing of infantry helmet liners, and the MoD hopes the gel could also soon be used in new types of body armour and other protective kit.

Ultimately the army's existing bulky helmets and heavy, restrictive body armour could be slimmed down thanks to the addition of pockets and layers of jelly.

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The future of flying: This MoD design called Novel Air Concept 1 shows what fighter jets of the future may look like

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Slick: This design is called Novel Air Concept 2 and shows a variety of flying machines and missiles

The Army's existing Mark 6A combat helmet has been in service for 20 years, and consists of a tough ballistic nylon layer with padded lining inside.

Now the aim is to produce a new liner made from the miracle gel, which will absorb much of the energy of an impact from a bullet - reducing the chances of it penetrating the outer layer and softening the shock to a soldier's skull and neck.

The gel's inventor Richard Palmer, chief executive of D3O Lab, said: 'It's rather like comparing RoboCop and Spider-Man.

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Cutting-edge: This design titled Future Protected Vehicle is what a tank may one day look like

'RoboCop is the past - heavily protected but bulky and cumbersome - whereas Spider-Man is more nimble, covert and flexible.

'The gel works at a molecular level. When moved slowly the molecules will slip past each other, but in a high-energy impact they will snag and lock together, becoming solid, and in doing so they absorb energy.'

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Future of sea-warfare? This image, titled Novel Air Concept 3, depicts a possible future battleship with helicopters landing on it

The D3O gel was one of a range of new innovations shown off by the MOD today under its new Defence Technology Plan, awarding almost £2million to hi-tech firms to develop better equipment for frontline troops.

Others include the Testudo, a small and rugged wheeled robot which can be carried by troops and then released towards enemy positions to spot enemy fighters and other threats, beaming back images.

Designers are also developing systems to help helicopter pilots land safely in the thick dust clouds thrown up by their rotor blades, and new tiny unmanned aerial drones which will operate in 'swarms', linked by intelligence computers.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1156544/Introducing-gel-filled-army-helmet-crush-bullets-penetrate-it.html