'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
The list of aircraft planned to be inducted by the Air Force include 36 Rafales, 114 Multirole Fighter Aircraft, 100 Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and over 200 variants of the Light Combat Aircraft. "In the next 15 years, 83 LCAs are our primary focus, after that LCA Mark 2 will come in we are looking at close to 100 of those, that makes it near 200 of LCA class," Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria told ANI in an interview.
"The HAMMER missiles are in the process of being integrated with the LCA Tejas and it will significantly enhance its capability to take out hardened targets from stand-off distances," government sources told ANI.
As per earlier plans, Balakot operations in-charge and current Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa was to travel to receive the plane on September 19-20 from France.
Three women officers of the Indian Air Force on Monday made history as they became the country's first 'All Women Crew' to fly a Medium Lift Helicopter.
The inquiry into the March 9 incident was done by Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Offensive) Air Vice Marshal R K Sinha where during routine maintenance and inspection, a BrahMos missile got fired accidentally and landed up in the Mian Channu area of Pakistan.
The ministry of defence in September 2021 signed a Rs 21,935-crore contract with Airbus Defense and Space SA, Spain for supply of 56 aircraft.
No 1 Squadron, the Indian Air Force's oldest squadron, celebrates 80 years of dedicated service to the nation. Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam, who has served twice with the squadron, looks back on the Tigers's awesome journey.
The two frontline combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during a training mission in Morena on Saturday, resulting in the death of a wing commander while two other pilots ejected safely.
Avani Chaturvedi flew a MiG-21 bison in her first training solo sortie, in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Arjan Singh, the Marshal of the Indian Air Force, was a fearless and exceptional pilot and remained a source of inspiration to all personnel of the Armed Forces through the years.
The key airbase at Panagarh in West Bengal has been renamed as 'Air Force Station Arjan Singh' in honour of the Marshal of the Air Force, who turned 97 on Friday.
Sources said the equipment is being brought to India through both sea and air routes.
The plan was to equip the Su-30 aircraft with more powerful radars and the latest electronic warfare capabilities to make it more powerful as per the latest standards, the sources said.
The government is also planning to replace the current ageing Air India One or Boeing 747 with Boeing 777s. Arup Roychoudhury and Archis Mohan report.
The both governments recognise that a ground invasion is very likely and not telling Israel not to launch one at all, but rather hold off to try and see if additional diplomatic efforts can succeed.
The chief of air staff said Chinese actions along the frontier including in the Ladakh sector are being monitored constantly and the IAF's overall preparations are part of continuing efforts irrespective of challenges from China.
At present, the IAF has 10 women fighter pilots and 18 women navigators. The total strength of women officers serving in the IAF is 1,875.
'While fighter pilots must not be sent into combat in inferior aircraft, an obsessive quest for outright combat superiority will leave an air force short of numbers,' says Ajai Shukla.
Pakistan has acquired a full squadron of 25 multirole J-10C fighter jets from its all weather ally China in response to India's purchase of Rafale aircraft, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said.
'Anyone who should be worried about or critical about this new capability of the Indian Air Force, it should be those who want to threaten our territorial integrity'
The entire base must be spic and span with flags fluttering along the roads. Everything that moves will be washed and bedecked with the best while everything that is static will be painted afresh, observes Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
"The target is 2022. It is absolutely on target. I mentioned earlier. Except for one or two aircraft, minor delays because of COVID related issues, but, in fact, some deliveries have been ahead of time. So, broadly, we are absolutely on target on the Rafale induction plan," he said.
Captain Sathe was a former Indian Air Force Test pilot. He was commissioned into service in 1981 and served in the force for 22 years.
The Chinese fighter aircraft activities took place from its bases including the Hotan, Gar Gunsa and Kashgar airfields which have been upgraded recently to enable operations by all types of fighters along with concrete structures to hide away the presence of the number of fighters present at its different airbases, the sources said.
During the 1971 war, he flew several "active attack missions" to heavily defended targets like the Governor House in Dhaka, which became instrumental in forcing Pakistan's surrender, a former colleague said.
On Tuesday night, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stayed at Buckingham Palace in London, where she lived almost all her life, for one last time.
'Rafales can play an important role in doing DEAD (Destruction of Enemy Air Defence) on the Surface-to-Air Missiles that the Chinese have put on Tibet'
'We found the MiG-29s to be in excellent condition. They could make an excellent addition to our fleet,' a senior air marshal tells Ajai Shukla.
'The next war will be fought by China-Pakistan against India and we have to fully be prepared. We must read the writing on the wall.'
"The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country's indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential," he said.
The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.
The IAF chief thanked the Indian government for negotiating the deal, bringing it to a fruitful conclusion and the French government, air force, and industry for ensuring delivery of the jets and training of the pilots.
Shivangi Singh is part of the IAF's Golden Arrows squadron based out of Ambala in Punjab.
'...and then get scaled down somewhat.' 'It will be difficult for any side to occupy meaningful territories, maybe just a bit here and there, and the destruction may vary on either side.'
The Indian Air Force has now decided to deploy its additional six C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft at Panagarh in West Bengal-- the likely location of a proposed Army Mountain Corps headquarter--, and not in Odisha.
The aircraft flew out from the airbase in the French port city of Bordeaux and will cover a distance of nearly 7,000 km with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop in the United Arab Emirates before arriving at Ambala airbase on Wednesday, officials said.
'Unlike on the western and eastern borders where there is an enemy at the gate, here there is an invisible enemy which is building its own capability and can come into play at a time and place of his choosing.'
There is a shortage of officers at the major and captain levels in the army with over 6,800 vacancies, but the available strength is "sufficient" to meet the current operational requirements, Parliament was informed on Friday.
Videos from the scene, shot by locals in Morena, showed debris of the aircraft on the ground.
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