'The share of the private sector is at its all-time high of around Rs 42,000 crore in FY26, reflecting its expanding role in the defence ecosystem.'
Lieutenant General Seth's involvement in the army's capability development and modernisation efforts is evident from the key appointments he has held in the Strategic Planning and Capability Development Directorates, including Colonel Capability Development for Mechanised Forces, Brigadier Perspective Plans and Acquisition, and Additional Director General Capability Development.
A lesson for India is to clearly define objectives beforehand, so that the adversary or other parties do not attempt to mitigate them midway.
'We won not (only) because we were able to carry out long-range precision strikes.' 'That is, of course, one of the reasons but we had better situational awareness about what's happening than Pakistan.'
Army, Navy and Air Force commanders received enhanced powers to address urgent operational requirements quickly.
'DRDO has been directed to license missile technologies to the private sector.'
Pakistan is reportedly pursuing Chinese J-35 stealth fighters while China already operates hundreds of J-20 stealth aircraft.
Under Mission Sudarshan Chakra, the country's national security shield is to be expanded by 2035 to ensure comprehensive protection of both strategic and civilian critical infrastructure.
The IAF's future operational concepts could involve indigenous Tejas combat aircraft coordinating in real time with multiple Ghatak RPSAs, each carrying a different mission payload ranging from electronic warfare systems and targeting sensors to precision munitions.
'General Subramani's appointment as military adviser in the NSCS has given him insight into decision-making at the apex level prior to formally taking over as CDS.'
The plan includes three such formations: A China-focused Northern Theatre Command, a Pakistan-focused Western Theatre Command, and a Maritime Theatre Command.
'India should understand that we are not going to make the same mistakes with India that we made with China 20 years ago.'
Once operational, Ghatak could undertake deep-strike missions, penetrating heavily defended airspace to hit high-value targets without placing pilots at risk.
'The additional Rafales will be from a vastly improved version compared to the 36 acquired for the IAF under the 2016 deal.'
If approved, the fighters would help the IAF to build its reducing squadrons, especially after the MiG-21 was decommissioned last year.
'If you go by the capital expenditure, this is a good defence budget. But we will have to see if the government can keep defence spending at 2 per cent or higher in 2027-2028.'
'Some success has been achieved in raising the costs of terrorism for Pakistan.'
However, these are understood to be exploratory talks, with an agreement unlikely to be formalised during the current visit.
This is the fourth peacetime crash of an IAF jet in 2025 so far.
HAL executives said deliveries of the Tejas Mk1A to the IAF would begin within this year, but only after the successful completion of the weapons-firing trials currently underway.
