"The IAF chief flew a MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft during the visit where he interacted with the aircrew and reviewed the operational preparedness," IAF officials said.
India celebrates December 16 as Vijay Diwas to commemorate the military victory over Pakistan in 1971.
The launch of the first-ever direct train service from Delhi to Kashmir would be a big turning point in the Valley's mood and its integration with India. He had to thwart it at any cost, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
When the IAF veterans' bail petition came up for hearing, in an unprecedented move, senior serving and retired Air Marshals and Air Vice Marshals rallied behind the accused officers and appeared before the court to give sureties for each, something that has never happened ever before.
'If there is a military standoff eyeball to eyeball on the western border, the Chinese could create problems by making movements in the north, in our northeast, which could involve us tying down some forces there so that could stretch our military actions.'
The reality is that far from being friendless, India is better positioned in the world than at any point post-Cold War, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
It is too premature to point a finger at former Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi. India's mind-boggling acquisition procedure is so complex that no foreign agency can handle the deal without involving a middleman, Air Marshal (retired) B K Pandey tells rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa
A spectacular aerial display showcasing the prowess and manoeuvrability of the Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft over the iconic Marina sky captivated the hearts of Chennaiites who turned up in thousands on a sultry Sunday and witnessed the IAF's range of new aircraft including Rafale, roar in action.
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has included Mishaal Hussain Malik, wife of jailed terrorist and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, in his cabinet.
Singh said in a statement in the Lok Sabha that all efforts were being made to save IAF Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, who was on life support at the military hospital in Wellington.
All the mangled remains of the helicopter, which crashed at Nanjapachatram near Coonoor in the Nilgiris district killing 14 including the country's first chief of defence staff Bipin Rawat have been collected from the site.
Sky marshals could soon be grounded if some private airlines keep dawdling over the former's maintenance.
In his address, the air chief marshal underlined that with a massive surge of new technologies and opening up of space to private players, there is a "disruption in the established scheme of things".
The first batch of Advanced Light Helicopter 'Dhruv' Mk-III was on Wednesday inducted at the Indian Air Force station in Bareilly.
The national flag will fly half-mast on the day of the funeral in Delhi.
Whenever tenures of army chiefs were extended in the recent past, prime ministers were subsequently eased out of office by the same army chief, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
India plans to sign the $11 billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft deal with French Rafale by the end of August and September, a senior Indian Air Force official said on Saturday. "I find no reason why it shouldn't be signed by the end of this month or next month", said Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, IAF, Air Marshal Rajinder Singh.
According to the new rules, any serving or retired lieutenant general, air marshal and vice-admiral under the age of 62 years will be eligible for appointment to the post of CDS.
President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday took her maiden sortie in a fighter aircraft at Tezpur air base in Assam.
He became the first helicopter pilot to be named chief of the Indian Air Force.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
As CDS, General Chauhan's primary task will be to implement the theaterisation model to bring in tri-services synergy by rolling out integrated military commands.
It was indeed a poignant moment to see an uniformed Arjan Singh rising out of his wheelchair and using a walking stick to march up to President APJ Abdul Kalam's coffin
The Chief of Air Staff said India is fully ready to deal with a "two-front" war scenario involving China and Pakistan and that the focus has been to enhance the IAF's overall combat capabilities.
'He was an embodiment of old school courtesy and grace. It was embarrassing when he would insist on receiving and seeing off guests at the gate of his house! A trait he shared with another of great soldiers of India, Sam Manekshaw!' remembers Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
However, the IAF will face difficulties for a month or two in getting spare parts for its defence equipment from Russia to India, he added.
The planes would now officially be inducted on October 8 into the IAF when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visits France but the planes would start arriving in India only in May 2020 after validation of the India Specific Enhancements and training of pilots and personnel.
'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 two anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited were launched by Neeta Chaudhari, wife of Chief of Air Staff of Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari.
'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.
Sanjay Kumar is the only Param Vir Chakra awardee who still serves in the Indian Army.
"In case of a misadventure of Pakistan triggered by major terrorist attack or the attack like the one we had on Parliament, attack on our leader, a major city, public or hijacking an aircraft, any such action by them can obviously lead to a reaction from India, which could be a short intense war," Air Marshal K D Singh, Commander-in-Chief of South-Western Air Command said.
The structure and the level at which the hotline would be set up is likely to come up for discussion in future meetings between the two countries at the military level, they said.
Gen Rawat's comments about the supporting role of the Air Force came at a conference when asked about the growing perception that the Indian Air Force was not keen on setting up the proposed theatre commands integrating the capabilities of the three forces.
Air Marshal P S Ahluwalia will take over from Air Marshal Savur, who retires from service on Thursday.
The sky outside was a perfect blue with fair winds on that hot day in July, but inside the Jaguar an emergency was unraveling with every passing second. Wing Commander Vernon Desmond Keane had two options: Eject and see his beloved aircraft crash -- which would come at a great cost to the nation and cause harm to civilian life and property on the ground. Or try the limits of his training; push the aircraft and his flying skills to the edge of technical and human endurance and save them both.
'Once a pilot enters into a cumino nimbus cloud, the aircraft gets sucked in and is forced downwards. There is very little that a pilot can do in such a situation.'
Glimpses of the Indian Air Force's 91st Air Force Day celebrations at the Bamrauli Air Force Station in Prayagraj, October 8, 2023.
The 101 Squadron is the second IAF squadron to be equipped with the Rafale fighter jets. In September last year, the Rafale aircraft were inducted into the 17 'Golden Arrows' Squadron.
