Former vice chief of Indian Air Force Air Marshal P K Barbora (retd), known to be an outstanding air warrior who was instrumental in reactivation of the Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) air strip in eastern Ladakh, passed away at a military hospital in New Delhi on Monday. He was 72.
The MiGs, said the air chief, will be replaced by the Hawk AJT.
A MiG-21 aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed on Friday in Rajasthan's Barmer district, with the pilot ejecting safely.
MiG 21s, which have been involved in frequent crashes, will start getting phased out from 2014, setting the stage for giving the Indian Air Force a 'new look' with the induction of modern next generation aircraft. "MiG 21s which constitute around 40 per cent of the IAF fleet will start getting phased out from 2014. With the induction of modern next generation aircraft such as the FGFA and MMRCA, the IAF will be a new look force," Defence Minister AK Antony said.
Modi lauded the Navy following the announcement that a woman officer would be commanding a Naval ship for the time time.
India has already purchased 16 MiG-29K aircraft from Russia for $536 million. The total deal, including the warship, was for $1.5 billion in 2004.
Russia has informed India that the crash of a MiG 29K fighter jet, which was manufactured for the Indian Navy, was due to pilot error and there was no need for it to ground its planes in India.
A MiG-29 fighter of the Indian Air Force on Tuesday crashed near the airbase in Jamnagar shortly after taking off for a routine sortie, and the pilot ejected to safety.
This is the ninth IAF Aircraft crash since January this year. "The aircraft was on a routine training sortie from the Hashimara airbase and crashed at around 1310 hours, nearly 15 kilometres from its take off base near New Jalpaiguri," IAF officials said.
The accident occurred at around 1300 hrs when the aircraft, on a routine sortie, hit a water pump house as it took off.
The defence budget was on Thursday increased to Rs 6.21 lakh crore for 2024-25 in a modest hike of 4.72 per cent from last year's allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore amid India's continuing border row with China in eastern Ladakh as well as concerns over evolving security situation in the strategic waterways.
After an eight-day operation that saw 149 aerial sorties, the air force has located the wreckage of the MiG-29 fighter aircraft which had crashed on snow-clad mountains in Himachal Pradesh on October 19 but the fate of the pilot is not known.
A MiG-21 combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Friday crashed near Uttarlai airport in Rajasthan's Barmer district, but the pilot managed to eject safely. The plane was on a routine sortie and the incident occurred at around 11.30 am, when the pilot was preparing for landing. The pilot, Flying Officer Amit, ejected safely, a defence ministry spokesperson said.A court of inquiry has been ordered, he said.
The triennial exercise will take place for two hours and fifteen minutes during the day, dusk and night, he said.
Ground support staff quickly doused the flames and no one was injured in the fire. There was also no damage to the aircraft or the runway.
The septuagenarian minister, in a blue overall, accompanied Wing Commander N Harish on the flight over Kurukshetra and other towns of Haryana before touching down safely at 1010 IST.
India is to buy 30 more carrier borne Mig-29K (Fulcrum-D) fighters for the Indian Navy and an agreement to this effect will be firmed up during the upcoming visit of Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov's to India next week.
An Indian Air Force MiG-21 'Bison' fighter aircraft crashed on Friday, apparently due to an engine problem, while on a routine sortie in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district, but the pilot ejected safely.The plane went down at 11.25 am near Bela-Bhimlat village, at approximately 150 km south-west of Gwalior air base after taking off from there. A rescue helicopter was sent to fetch the pilot, the spokesman said, adding that a court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident.
Nine people were injured in the crash; the pilot was unhurt.
A MiG-21 Bison aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed during a routine sortie near the Naliya Airbase in Kutch on Saturday, with the pilot ejecting safely. The fighter plane crash-landed 30 kilometres from the air base in an open forest area, IAF officials said. There were no casualties in the mishap.
Group Captain of Indian Air Force, Bagdogra, M K Dey said the aircraft caught fire at 9:30 am while returning from a routine sortie. Three fire tenders fought for about half-an-hour to extinguish the blaze.
The death toll in the MIG 27 fighter crash in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district rose to four with three more persons succumbing to their injuries while the black box of the jet was recovered on Sunday. Ranjit Roy, 25, died at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri today evening while teenager Purnima Rai and ten-year old Latika Roy succumbed to their burn injuries on Saturday evening, Jalpaiguri Chief Medical Officer (Health) Radharan Banik told reporters.
The jet fell on the house of a tractor mechanic, Bhola, in Mullanpur Dakha, Ludhiana.
Though Washington and Pyongyang have no diplomatic ties, the Bush administration plans to protest against North Korea's actions.
In yet another mishap, a MiG-21 jet fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in the marshlands in Kutch near the Indo-Pak border on Friday. But the pilot bailed out safely.
In the first mishap of an Indian Air Force aircraft this year, a MIG-27 ground attack fighter crashed near Hashimara air base in North Bengal on Thursday, but the pilot managed to eject out safely. There was no report of any casualty or damage on the ground. The Air Force has instituted a Court of Inquiry to find out the causes of the crash. The aircraft got air borne at 12:30 pm for a routine training mission and crashed 10.2 kms east of the base at 12:40 pm.
'Nine missiles from India had been pointed towards Pakistan, to be launched any time that day'
A MiG-27 aircraft of Indian Air Force crashed at Tantipara here tonight killing two civilians on the ground though the pilot ejected safely.
One factor which could have gone against the MiG-35 in the Indian deal is that the IAF's 62-odd MiG-29s coming up for upgradation to the UPG standard, will have features close to the MiG-35 or even better.
Flight Lieutenant Adivitiya Bal was killed in the line of duty along with Wing Commander Mohit Rana in last week's MiG-21 crash in Barmer. His school in Nagrota, Jammu, gave a final salute to a worthy ex-student.
The ill-fated aircraft was one of the older versions, which are progressively being phased out.
In his report released recently titled 'Dogfight! India's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft Decision,' Ashley J Tellis -- Senior Associate with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace -- pilloried the Russian aircraft saying it was the "weakest of the contenders" for the IAF's MMRCA deal.
In a major development, India is planning to buy 26 Rafale fighter aircraft and three Scorpene class conventional submarines from France.
Four Army personnel were killed and one was reported missing after the twin-engine weapon system integrated (WSI) version of the indigenously-built helicopter went down at Migging village in Upper Siang district of the border state at 10.43 am on Friday.
Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said the IAF is "always cautious and alert" to check any untoward aerial movement on the border.
First Deputy General of the MiG Corporation said, 'We cannot bear responsibility for spare parts.'
It is the first mega exercise involving the two aircraft carriers after induction of the indigenously-built INS Vikrant in September.
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