In Our Defence

Once Islamabad's (or Rawalpindi's) protégés, the Taliban are now exchanging gunfire with Pakistan. The recent clashes mark the deadliest fighting between the two since Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021. What changed?

In this episode, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan unpack the clash along the Durand Line -- a fight tangled in Pashtun identity, militant kinships, and Pakistan's own Frankenstein problem.

The two trace the origin the Taliban, explain how it is wrongly believed to be synonymous with the Al Qaeda, and explore how its Pashtun roots put it at odds with Pakistan's military elite. Also a topic of discussion is the TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) and how it seems to be punching above its weight. And finally, the episode looks at India's cautious recent outreach to Kabul and how it fits into this very messy map.

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Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound mixed by 

Two years after Oct 7, a US-brokered ceasefire takes hold in Gaza: living Israeli hostages are freed, the IDF pulls back to a predefined "yellow line," leaders fly into Sharm el-Sheikh to toast Donald Trump, and we hear talk of a "new Middle East." But how durable is this peace and what do we make of India's tightrope act?

In this episode, Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan break down:

- What the Gaza deal actually does and what it carefully avoids

- Can deal ensure lasting peace or is this yet another ebb in the decades-long cycle of violence

- Who governs Gaza next: PA technocrats, an interim force, or a messy vacuum

- Whether two years of devastation have become recruitment fuel for Hamas or its successor

- What's at stake for India and why PM Modi chose to skip the Egypt summit

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Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound Mixed by Rohan Bharti

A fresh jolt in West Asia: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement. Is it just a formalisation of a decades-old security relationship or the birth of an 'Islamic NATO'?

On the latest episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan unpack what's real, what's posturing and why the announcement landed just as Israel struck targets in Qatar, a US ally, trying to mediate with Hamas. The episode especially explores what the agreement means for India.

The two discuss:

-Trace the Pak-Saudi security history and what's actually "new" in this pact

-Decode India's response and how New Delhi should read Riyadh's move

-Ask the uncomfortable bit: money flows to military to militants?

-Explore the nuclear chatter: Pakistani umbrella for Saudi?

-Revisit the long-running theory of US contingency plans around Pakistan's nukes

-Game out an "Op Sindoor 2.0" scenario: where does Saudi sit if India-Pakistan tensions flare?

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Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound Mixed by Aman Pal

The Indian Air Force has retired the MiG-21 – the iconic Soviet-era fighter aircraft—that became the most produced supersonic jet in history and the backbone of the IAF. The Mig-21 trained generations of Indian Air Force pilots and defended India’s skies for six decades.

Recorded around Mig-21’s farewell at Air Force Station, Chandigarh, this special episode of In Our Defence with national security expert Sandeep Unnithan dives into the jet’s history, upgrades, combat stories, the debate over safety, and its legacy.

Host Dev Goswami and Sandeep unpack how a 1960s Soviet interceptor became India’s backbone, why it attracted the “flying coffin” label, what the Bison upgrade really changed, and how the MiG-21’s dominance shaped IAF training and doctrine.

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Image of the first women IAF fighter pilots- Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound Mix by Aman Pal

Kamikaze drones, or loitering munitions, have been everywhere in recent conflicts, from the Russia-Ukraine war to battles in the Middle East. They're cheap, deadly, and changing how militaries think about strikes and defence.

In this episode, host Dev Goswami sits down with defence journalist Sandeep Unnithan to trace the idea back to its WWII origins and ask why India, despite having a buzzing drone startup scene, still doesn't have its own kamikaze drones.

The two break down:

- What kamikaze meant in WWII and how the idea evolved into unmanned drones.

- How these drones are being used in Ukraine and what lessons India should take.

- Why India relied on Israeli Harop drones in Operation Sindoor.

- Procurement and development blind spots that explain India's slow adoption.

- Why India urgently needs to build and maintain a credible kamikaze drone force.

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound Mix by Suraj Singh

India is betting big on the Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island, a decades-long project to build a massive transshipment port, a new airport, a power plant, a township, and associated military build-up at the doorstep of the Strait of Malacca, the world’s busiest shipping lane.

The project had been flying under the radar until this month when concerns of ecological damage and impact on tribal population put the spotlight on this venture.

On this episode, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan dive deep into this project and explore why this could be India’s most significant infrastructure project in history.

What makes the Malacca Strait the most crucial chokepoint in global trade?

And how does Great Nicobar give India a leg up in its long-running maritime rivalry with China?

The two decode the geopolitics of the Indian Ocean, the ecological and tribal concerns around the project, and why the next big global contest may not be on land, but at sea.

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound Mix by Rohan Bharti

In this episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan unpack the debate over theaterisation -- the buzzword that has divided India's armed forces for years.

Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh's recent comments about India not needing theaterisation right now have once again opened a debate that was meant to have been settled with the appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff.

On this episode, Dev and Sandeep go from the origins of theatre commands in World War II, to India's 17 separate service commands, to the Air Force's worries -- and the famous committees (Kargil Review, GoM, Naresh Chandra, Shekatkar) that studied this reform to death.

The two explore:

- What is theaterisation and why does it matter?

- Why is the Indian Air Force pushing back?

- Did General Bipin Rawat's death stall the project?

- What role do decades of committees and bureaucratic delays play?

- And most importantly, does India actually need theatre commands for future wars?

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound Mix by Rohan Bharti

India's latest Agni-V missile test, just days before the PM's visit to China, got tongues wagging this week. Was it a message to Beijing? Islamabad? Or both?

In this episode of In Our Defence, national security expert Sandeep Unnithan joins host Dev Goswami to unpack the story of how and, more importantly, why India became a nuclear power. From the first "Smiling Buddha" test in 1974 to the Pokhran-II Shakti series in 1998, and today's Agni-V, this is the story of India's nuclear weapons programme.

Produced by Taniya Dutta

Sound Mix by Suraj Singh

Five years after the deadly Galwan Valley clash, India and China are suddenly warming up again. Flights are restarting, a Modi-Xi meeting is on the cards, and Beijing says that the setbacks of the past years were not in anybody's interests.

But is this thaw for real or just another chapter in the freeze-thaw cycle of India-China relations?

In this episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan unpack:

- The Galwan clash and Operation Snow Leopard

- India's mountain warfare edge vs China's infrastructure push

- Why negotiations dragged on for 5 years

- What Beijing and Delhi each gain from a "thaw"

- The China angle during India's Operation Sindoor

- The Donald Trump factor and whether it's pushing India and China closer

Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir recently made wild headlines in the US, casually threatening nuclear apocalypse at a private dinner. He claimed that if India ever attacked, Pakistan would "take half the world down" with it. Yes, really.

In this episode, defence journalist Sandeep Unnithan joins host Dev Goswami to unpack what's behind this latest nuclear sabre-rattling. Why would Pakistan's top general say something so reckless -- and why now, and in Florida of all places?

We also dive into:

-The factors behind the US's new-found but old love for the Pakistan military

-The "Mercedes vs dump truck" analogy

-The US designation of Baloch Liberation Army as a terror group, timed right after Munir's visit

-How Pakistan developed nukes so fast after India's 1998 Pokhran

-The legend of US control over Pakistan's nuclear button

-How worried should India be about Asim Munir's

Produced by Garvit Srivastava

Sound mixed by Rohan Bharti