Is the 'Cold War' Over?

Is the cold war over? Well for anyone with a little bit of access to media briefings at the recently concluded Aero India 2009 Show, could get to see the 20 year old famous 'Cold War' tactics being used by USA and Russia to get the 450,000 corers rupees or 1000 billion dollar contract for 125 medium sized fighter jets which the Indian Union plans on ordering to upgrade it's Air Force strength and capability to strike with precision and speed. In these times of recession, the USA which has started to face the heat and Russia which is facing a slide down on their economy for more than a decade, this offer looks like a boon from the bolt.

Lockheed Martin which owns the F-16 Super Viper jets were holding an media briefing soon after their competitor Mikoyan the owners of MIG 35 had held one at the same venue in the media center. One of the Russian journalist stayed back while the rest of them walked out along with the Russian Ambassador to India along with the top brass of the MIG 35 company. As the other Indian media were settling into their chairs two of the top brass of the Lockheed Martin officials were seen arguing with Olga Pospelova of the Russian Aviation magazine and demanding that she leave the hall as her ID card issued did not match the one of the other media persons present in the hall.Though she pleaded that this was the card she was issued by the organizing authorities which fell on deaf ears and later she was escorted out with an bouncer on her tail.

Through these moments I kept framing the sequence of her being shouted at and later escorted out. As a journalist I quickly thought that what happened to the freeze on the 'Cold War' between the two countries. Well money they say can buy anything and now it is time for the cold war between the USA and Russia to fall prey to it.


The Lockheed Martin owned F-16 Super Viper (left) burns smoke over the Bangalore skies as Mikoyan owned MIG-35 (right) speeds past an flag at the Aero India Show 2009 at Yelanka Air Force base on 12th February, 2009.



Who says the cold war is over, it has started to heat up again with this multi billion dollar pending order for 125 fighter jets by the Indian government. The cold war was at it's warmest at the Aero India Show 2009. An sequence of the Russian Aviation Magazine representative Olga Pospelova being first asked by the representatives of the Lockheed Martin to kindly leave, and later escorted away to the door during an media briefing by the US defense company at the Yelanka Air force base in Bangalore on Friday, 13th February, 2009.