An Indian Air Force Su-30 MKI fighter jet crashed in Assam during a training mission, prompting an immediate search operation for the missing pilots.
President Droupadi Murmu will fly in the indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) 'Prachand' at the Jaisalmer Air Force Station. She will also attend the IAF's mega firepower demonstration 'Vayu Shakti' at the Pokhran Field Firing Range.
Even as the benchmark and broader indices were down sharply on Monday due to escalating tensions in West Asia, the Nifty Defence index ended the session in the green.
The delivery of the jets are facing delays primarily due to GE Aerospace missing several deadlines for supply of its aero engines to power the jets.
News reports that GE Aerospace has delivered the first of 99 F404-IN20 engines ordered by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) for the Tejas Mk-1A has revived interest in the HAL stock.
On Tuesday, December 2, 2025, the Defence Research and Development Organisation successfully conducted a high-speed rocket-sled test of a fighter aircraft escape system at the Rail Track Rocket Sled facility at the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory in Chandigarh.
The fiscal tilt towards capex benefits companies in investment-related sectors like capital goods, defence equipment, engineering & construction and metal & mining. The planned cut in revenue expenditure will weigh on companies in consumption sectors like FMCG, consumer durables and retail.
HAL has assured the IAF that 12 Mk1A aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2025-2026.
India is set to take its first steps towards its own human space flight when the uncrewed Gaganyaan mission soars to the skies later this year. Private players in the space sector are also gearing up for launching satellites on home-built rockets.
The sources declined to specify the number of drones the Navy plans to acquire but said the focus is now on manufacturing the MK-II in India through partnerships with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Elcom.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) expressed deep sorrow over the death of an Indian Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal, in a Tejas aircraft crash during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show. The incident involved the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and marked the second crash involving a HAL-manufactured aircraft in 20 months.
The DRDO conducted the test in collaboration with the Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
However, these are understood to be exploratory talks, with an agreement unlikely to be formalised during the current visit.
India's indigenous fighter jet programme reached a key milestone on Friday, October 17, 2025, as the Tejas Mk1A made its maiden flight at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's Nashik facility.
This is the fourth peacetime crash of an IAF jet in 2025 so far.
Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) is one of the largest beneficiaries of the defence indigenisation programme. The aerospace Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) has just received a new tender for 97 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A, and it is already servicing an earlier order for 83 LCA aircraft. The new order is worth around Rs 65,000 crore with a 65 per cent indigenisation component, whereas the earlier order (February 21) was worth Rs 45,700 crore with 55 per cent indigenisation.
India and Russia have agreed to jointly produce a twin-engine narrow-body passenger aircraft for short-haul flights, marking a significant step in their strategic ties. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Russia's Public Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC-UAC) have signed an agreement for the production of SJ-100 aircraft in India.
The Russian agencies concerned are carrying out studies to determine the level of investments they will have to make to manufacture the aircraft in India, defence sources said.
The enduring relationship between the two countries have survived the disintegration of the erstwhile USSR in 1991, the end of the Cold War and the regime change in both countries, points out Rup Narayan Das.
According to an international media report, the jet crashed in the afternoon local time while flying a demonstration flight at the prestigious air show.
Kyrgyzstan import Raja Baliev Nurlan's fine piece of opportunism enabled them beat JCT Mills in the National Football League match.\n\n
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.
This is seen as the first concrete opportunity to break HAL's monopoly in combat aircraft manufacturing, potentially opening the door to a private-sector fighter jet producer.
Goldman Sachs is bullish about Indian aerospace and defence, preferring private companies over public sector units (PSUs) as the country ramps up its export target for the sector to Rs 50,000 crore by FY29 from Rs 23,600 crore last year. The American investment bank's top 'buy' recommendations include Solar Industries, Bharat Electronics, Data Patterns and PTC Industries, while Bharat Dynamics is rated 'sell'.
HAL's order book amounts to Rs 2.45 trillion by end of Q2FY26, implying a book-to-bill ratio of 32 times based on FY25 revenue.
'The heat shield technology for re-entry vehicles was first mastered in DRDO for the Agni missile.' 'This is why the Americans were so opposed to Agni in the 1980s, unlike other missiles -- it was a re-entry vehicle.'
The Indian Air Force is set to retire its fleet of MiG-21 fighter jets at a decommissioning event in Chandigarh. The event will mark the end of an era for the aircraft that has been a key part of the IAF's combat fleet for over six decades.
The final approval for the acquisition of 97 LCA Mark 1A fighters was given by a high-level meeting on Tuesday and will pave the way for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to produce the aircraft, defence sources told ANI.
The deal is expected to help HAL to get its complete requirement of 212 GE-404 engines in continuity, avoiding any types of delays in engine supplies.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to retire its MiG-21 aircraft in September after over six decades of service. The last of the MiG-21 jets will be given a farewell at a ceremony in Chandigarh.
Announcing the launch of "Mission Sudarshan Chakra", Modi said it will be aimed at neutralising enemy threat and enhancing India's offensive capabilities.
HAL aims to raise output from the current ceiling of 24 aircraft a year to 30 by the end of 2027
The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
In the phone conversation on Tuesday, Singh urged Hegseth to expedite the delivery of GE F404 engines to power the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, people familiar with the matter said.
'The aircraft is expected to be ready for rollout between January and March 2026, and to fly by the end of the year.'
Of the 156 LCH, 90 would be for the Indian Army while 66 would be for the Indian Air Force.
The MiG-21's sharp silhouette and supersonic roar will live on in the memories of those who flew it, those who maintained it, and those who watched it streak across the sky as a symbol of India's strength, asserts IAF veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
A five-member team, headed by Sanjay Kumar Singh, is probing the fatal crash of the Air India aircraft last month in Ahmedabad that killed 260 people. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has released its preliminary report and appointed the team.
'An HAL-private sector tieup is a possibility.'
The value of contracts awarded by the MoD in 2024-2025 is the highest ever and double the previous record set in 2023-2024.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances