'The sky is the limit for what all could be done at an air base to neutralise terrorists. Good proactive local leadership and delegated operational effort would be key to ensuring that a handful of terrorists cannot hold a whole air base, and by extension, the whole nation to ransom,' says Group Captain P I Muralidharan (retd).
Sushil Nathaniel, an LIC manager from Indore, was shot dead by terrorists in Pahalgam, Kashmir, after being forced to recite the 'Kalma'. His family has demanded the harshest punishment for the assailants. Nathaniel, who was on a family trip to celebrate Easter, was among 26 people killed in the attack. His daughter was injured in the attack, while his wife and son survived.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has called upon the West Bengal government to "act urgently" to address the grievances of the riot-hit people of Murshidabad district, particularly women. Rahatkar, who visited the riot-affected areas in Murshidabad and Malda over the weekend, said the commission is preparing a report which will be submitted soon to the Centre with copies to top state officials. The report will incorporate the views of women who narrated their ordeal during the violence, including demands for a Border Security Force (BSF) camp in the affected area. Rahatkar also expressed concern about the lack of action by the State Women's Commission in visiting the affected areas.
The situation that developed in eastern Ladakh last year required acclimatisation of a large number of IAF personnel and stretching of equipment to limits, but the force is "much better prepared" now in case there is a "long haul", Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said on Thursday.
Sources said Singh has briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the crash and the Indian Air Force chief has been asked to reach the site.
The country was on Thursday put on high alert with additional forces being deployed at public places, especially in Maharashtra and Delhi, on the eve of the second anniversary of the Mumbai terror attack.
Talking to media persons in Hindon on the sidelines of the 77th anniversary celebrations of the force, he said the Garud special forces would be present in the helicopters flying in Maoist-hit areas for rescue operations and would defend their personnel and equipment by warding-off attacks by Naxals on them.
'Even known names and social media handles went berserk by stating that Karachi has been attacked and an F-16 was shot down.'
The comments came a day after Indian Air Force Chief Arup Raha said the air force has moved a proposal for inducting women as fighter aircraft pilots.
Trump has a major decision to take in coming days -- specifically, how to rescue Israel from the attritional war that lies ahead, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Former Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, on Wednesday refuted allegations that he was paid bribes to swing a Rs 3,600 crore deal for procuring 12 choppers from Italian firm Finmeccanica to ferry VVIPS. "I am innocent. These allegations are totally baseless and I am denying them categorically. The deal was signed in 2010 whereas I retired in 2007 itself," he said.
Efforts have also intensified to extinguish the raging forest fires in the state, especially in the worst-affected areas of Nainital, Haldwani and Ramnagar forest divisions, forest officials here said on Sunday.
Six Rafale trainer aircraft will carry RB series tail numbers which stand for Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria, the current Chief of Air Staff who played a key role as lead negotiator for the mega deal.
A strong military cannot be maintained with discipline alone. Today, a strong military means state of the art equipment, steady supply of munitions and morale and most importantly reconnaissance, research and 2nd/3rd strike capabilities, writes Pramod Kumar Buravalli.
Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar conducted a special screening of the much-awaited film on his life, 'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' for the Indian Armed Forces personnel at the Indian Air Force Auditorium, in New Delhi, on Saturday.
According to the local reports, three people have been injured, two of them critically in the shooting incident in which the suspect gunman took his own life.
Ahead of Republic Day, the Indian Army announced on Thursday the addition of two new features to this year's parade: battlefield surveillance systems and a Defebce Research and Development Organisation tableau showcasing Pralay, short-range ballistic missiles.
Confident that Indian Armed Forces will leave no stone unturned to safeguard our frontiers be it at land, air or ocean," Rawat said.
I would not like to preempt any of the findings of the court of inquiry, because it's a thorough process, said Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari.
Notably, the IAF recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the IIT-Madras to develop indigenous solutions to maintain various weapon systems.
Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the Modi government and Anil Ambani over the Rafale issue, saying that in order to bag India's biggest defence contracts one has to be a "defaulter of Rs 45,000 crore" and have "no relevant experience".
Dhanoa is a on a four-day visit to France to ramp up cooperation between the air forces of the two countries in a range of areas.
Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said the IAF is "always cautious and alert" to check any untoward aerial movement on the border.
The mesmerizing march included elite marching contingents, missiles, warplanes, surveillance gadgets and lethal weapon systems, with French President Emmanuel Macron gracing the occasion as the chief guest.
If the government of the day would like to set in place a smooth and well-planned changeover and facilitate the incoming chief to chalk out his action plan well in advance, the announcement of a successor needs to be done early, observes Colonel K Thammayya Udupa (retd).
The IAF chief also said that raising the upper age limit to 23 for induction under the Agnipath scheme for the year 2022 would permit a larger section of youths to enrol under the new model of recruitment.
As protests against the Agnipath military recruitment scheme intensified, the Army, Navy and the Air Force on Friday announced that they will start the enrolment process under the new model by next week while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the youths wanting to join the armed forces to start preparing for the induction.
The Congress on Sunday demanded answers from the government on whether it has accepted third-party mediation on Kashmir after the United States made announcements on behalf of India and Pakistan, and slammed attempts to 'internationalise' the issue and 'hyphenate' the two countries.
'We plan to launch new initiatives, including cash flow-based lending, to ensure borrowers are not burdened and can access funds more quickly.'
The ex-IAF chief was questioned in the same case by CBI for the last three days. This is the first time that the ex-Chief of Staff of the Indian Air Force has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate.
'The present generation, either due to historical amnesia or political propaganda, has been fed a narrative that paints India as an adversary rather than an ally.'
Announcing the decision to go ahead with the exercises planned in Kalaikunda Air Base near Kolkata, Mukherjee told reporters on Friday, "Everything has been sorted out."
The Pakistan army's Bahawalpur Corps has always had a special significance for India as it keeps an eye on the Jaish e Mohammed, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The NCW has raised strong objections to a woman Air Force officer allegedly being subjected to the "banned and intrusive two-finger test" by Indian Air Force doctors, and asked the air chief marshal to take necessary steps.
'In the Balakot operation, we had technology on our side, and we could launch precision stand of weapons with great accuracy.'
Disciplinary action is being taken against two officers in the shooting down of the chopper.
Witches, werewolves, pilots, engineers, the OTT scene is bursting with all kinds of extremes this week, and Sukanya Verma lists them out.
'Prashant Kishor is a businessman before he is a politician, and given that the expected average turnout for JSP candidates is 5,000 to 6,000 votes and since Bihar has a significant number of seats where the margin between the winner and runner-up falls within that range he will capitalise on exactly that to showcase his presence.'
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Wednesday handed over the first LCA Tejas twin-seater aircraft to the Indian Air Force.
Even as hope faded for the family of the pilot flying the missing AirAsia plane, a despairing message came from his daughter.
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