'Our production capacity ramp-up initiatives are expected to meet the critical requirements of our armed forces.'
India is expected to finalize the procurement of 26 naval variant Rafale jets and three Scorpene submarines from France in the coming weeks, further bolstering its naval capabilities. The deals, which are in the final stages of approval, could be announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris next month for an AI summit. The procurement of the Rafale (M) jets will be based on an inter-governmental agreement (IGA). The Indian Air Force is considering acquiring additional Rafale fighter aircraft squadrons. The deal for three Scorpene submarines follows the successful construction of six Scorpene submarines in India under Project 75. The defense and strategic partnerships between India and France have been strengthening in recent years, with both countries collaborating on joint development projects for jet and helicopter engines and advanced defense technologies.
Pakistan and China last week began production of the JF-17 multi-role jet, which they developed jointly, and Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed on Wednesday said the first squadron of the jets will be operational by the yearend.
The Tridents squadron which is now also known as the "Defender of the North" has replaced the MiG-21 squadron at the Srinagar air base which has traditionally been responsible for taking care of the threat from Pakistan.
Prior to the start of the World Cup final, Indian Air Force's aerobatic team Surya Kirans put up a grand show at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The Ambala district administration also prohibited people from flying private drones within the three-km radius of the air base.
Air Marshal Denzil Keelor was an Indian Air Force legend. His nephew Basil Keelor, son of another war hero Wing Commander Trevor Keelor, remembers a remarkable officer and gentleman.
'I've had a 10-and-a-half year journey behind the camera and people don't know who I am.'
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.
'There cannot be anyone like Air Marshal Keelor -- he was so difficult to emulate.' Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) salutes War Hero Air Marshal Denzil Keelor PVSM, KC, AVSM, VrC who passed into the ages last month.
Indian Air Force on Friday successfully fired recently acquired long range air-to-air MICA missile on a manoeuvring target from Mirage-2000 Upgrade combat aircraft.
'The Heron Mark 2 is a very capable drone. This is capable of longer endurance and has 'beyond line of sight' capability. With this, the entire country can be surveilled from the same place.'
Wing Commander Pratap Marathe's story is one of dedication, bravery, and humour, a shining example of the spirit of the Indian Air Force. Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) salutes Wing Commander Marathe who passed into the ages last week.
Her husband, Squadron Leader Kuldeep Singh, died in a helicopter crash in the Nilgiris in which India's first CDS General Bipin Rawat was killed.
The four new Heron Mark-2 drones, which can be equipped with long-range missiles and other weapons systems, have been deployed at a forward air base in the northern sector, where Team ANI witnessed their operations.
Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, told Press TV that the Nevatim air base, the Netzarim military facility and the Tel Nof intelligence unit, were hit in the Tuesday night attack dubbed 'Operation True Promise II'.
The first C-295 aircraft was inducted into Squadron No. 11 of the IAF. It is one of the oldest squadrons of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and is currently based at Vadodara Air Force Station.
"Government has decided to appoint Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria, PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC presently Vice Chief of Air Staff as the next Chief of the Air Staff," defence ministry's principal spokesperson, said on Twitter.
IAF conducts the air show, Srinagar and the government is part of the ongoing 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations
The marching contingents of the Army, the Navy and the IAF will participate in the prestigious parade along with their French counterparts.
The Indian Air Force keeps moving its aircraft in both the Union Territories in the Northern sector including Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to give them the experience of flying there in their unique terrain.
'Currently, it takes between two and three years to formulate the request for proposal for procuring specific military equipment for the armed forces. It should not be this way.'
The China threat continues to resonate in the strategic partnership between India and the USA, points out Rup Narayan Das.
"The first squadron is being deployed in the Punjab sector. The batteries of the first squadron would be capable of taking care of aerial threats from both Pakistan and China," government sources told ANI.
'If they aim to remain aligned with the public sentiment, as any democratic government should, then they must respond. Why else would the prime minister have cut short his visit to Saudi Arabia? And why would he have instructed the home minister himself to travel to Srinagar to assess the situation firsthand? This suggests that something is indeed being planned. I am quite certain of that, although the exact form it will take remains to be seen.'
'There is much to glean from such exercises. And make it known that we are ready to take them on together!', says Air Commodore Nition Sathe (retd).
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.
Valhalla is undoubtedly enriched by the presence of Unnikrishnan Gangadharan Kartha. He would have already convened the 'fall in' and regaled his friends with tales of the distant land that they once inhabited.
Air Marshal Chaudhari is presently serving as Vice Chief of the Air Staff.
Following the arrival of the new batch, the number of Rafale jets with the IAF went up to 24.
Sukanya Verma lists the girls to have rocked the military and khaki look in recent times.
Twelve constituencies of Bastar division were among 20 assembly segments in Chhattisgarh that went to the polls in the first phase on November 7. A high voter turnout of 78 per cent was recorded in these 20 seats.
Three people were killed after the MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed into a house in Hanumangarh in Rajasthan shortly after it took off for a routine training sortie from the Air Force Station at Suratgarh.
The fleet landed at Al Dhafra airbase on Monday in the United Arab Emirates after flying for over seven hours from the Merignac airbase. It was the only stopover by the jets while flying from France to India.
'There are certain critical deficiencies like shortage of fighter squadrons and force multipliers which must be addressed on priority to retain our combat edge'
The court of CBI special judge N D Joshi on Thursday sentenced then Squadron Leader Anoop Sood and Sergeants Anil K N and Mahendra Singh Sherawat to life imprisonment, a release issued by the CBI stated on Friday.
France has offered to upgrade India's 51 frontline Mirage 2000 fighters in a "compressed delivery time-frame", which could prove a boon to New Delhi in the backdrop of Indian Air Forces' force levels depleting to an alarming all time low of 32 Squadrons.
Former Inter-Services Intelligence official Khalid Khawaja, considered to be a close friend of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, has exposed the murky deals between the spy agency, the Pakistan army, the militants.Khawaja, a former air force squadron leader, claims that he was captured by militants while trying to finalise a deal between them and the army. According to him, the ISI had sent him to North Waziristan to broker a deal between the militants and the Pakistan army.
"The LCA Tejas was deployed by the Indian Air Force on the western front close to the Pakistan border to take care of any possible action by the adversary there," government sources told ANI.
"Few shots from 30,000 feet! Mid air refuelling of #RafaleJets on their way to #India," the Indian Embassy in France tweeted
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