Mrs Gandhi's power ebbed and peaked with the times. Mr Modi's has almost been constant, barring the few months of hard dip after the 240 seats of 2024, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'Operation Sindoor had three objectives.' 'One, destroy the Lashkar-e-Taiba headquarters at Muridke and the Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters at Bahawalpur.' 'Second, deter and defend any counterstrike by Pakistan.' 'And third, if they persist, demonstrably deliver counterforce punishment.' 'All of the three boxes, the IAF checked,' points out Shekhar Gupta.
India has rejected China's response to the detention of an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh at the Shanghai airport, asserting that the border state is an integral part of the country. The incident involved Pema Wang Thongdok, who was detained for 18 hours for holding an Indian passport.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan says the Indian Air Force would have slowed the Chinese offensive considerably during the 1962 War.
In his initial remarks, Army Chief General M M Naravane briefed the commanders about the overall situation following which detailed discussions on the matter took place, the sources said.
The government has extended the tenure of Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan up to May next year.
Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Tuesday made his first visit to the Eastern Command after taking over the office and also went to the forward areas at the international borders with China.
China's second-ranked general, He Weidong, is under investigation for corruption, along with nine other senior military officers punished for discipline violations and work-related crimes. This crackdown comes ahead of a key Communist Party conclave.
The Indian Air Force will carry out a mega exercise covering the Northeastern region early next month to check its combat readiness, amid a fresh spike in tension with China along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh.
The US would deploy its F-16s and other sophisticated combat aircraft for the exercise christened 'Cope India'
'India is a top-tier security partner for Australia and we continue to prioritise practical and tangible cooperation that directly contributes to Indo-Pacific stability.'
Amid tensions over build-up by the Chinese across the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh and reluctance to resolve remaining issues between the two countries, Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari is visiting forward areas in Ladakh to review the operational preparedness of troops deployed there.
The MiG-21's sharp silhouette and supersonic roar will live on in the memories of those who flew it, those who maintained it, and those who watched it streak across the sky as a symbol of India's strength, asserts IAF veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria asked the air warriors to maintain a very high-level of alertness considering the evolving situation in Pangong lake region in eastern Ladakh following China's unsuccessful attempts to occupy certain strategic points in the area, the officials said on Thursday.
Cyclone Ditwah exits Sri Lanka after causing widespread destruction and over 120 deaths, heading towards the Indian coast. Heavy rains and high winds are expected to continue.
In a bid to promote archery among its ranks and groom the unharnessed talent within the region, the Eastern Air Command has come up with the first Centre of Excellence for the sport in IAF.
INS Udaygiri and INS Himagiri marks the first occasion when two frontline surface combatants constructed at two different shipyards were commissioned simultaneously.
The commanders' conclave in a forward area in Sikkim, which is close to the Line of Actual Control, comes amid the lingering border row in eastern Ladakh.
The Indian Army's broader reorganisation is inevitable as India's military doctrine adapts to the demands of the modern battlefield.
Activation of this advanced landing ground would not only improve the response time for various operational situations but also the efficacy of the air operations in the eastern frontier.
The two-day mega exercise is involving almost all its frontline fighter jets and other assets deployed in the region, people familiar with the drill said.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed that the country's airspace had been violated by "a huge number of Russian drones" which were shot down by its military.
Wing Commander Raveendran and flight steward Sargeant Iyer, though shaken and injured, managed to open the rear door of the aircraft and shouted for Prime Minister Morarji Desai and the passengers in the forward cabin to exit in haste since they suspected that fire would engulf the aircraft.
Giving an account of India's overall military modernisation, Lt Gen Pande also said that an in-principle approval has been given to new combat formations called the Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) which can mobilise fast with a more effective approach.
The exercise was aimed at validating joint plans for strategic airlift of specialised forces employing IAF's fixed and rotary wing platforms by landing and dropping in designated areas for undertaking kinetic actions, they said.
Normal flight services at Manipur's Imphal International Airport were affected on Sunday afternoon over sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO), officials said.
The Indian Air Force has evacuated over 400 flood-affected people across Assam in the past 20 days as relief helicopters and transport planes are on round-the-clock standby. Air Commodore P E Patange of the Eastern Air Command said besides airlifting 400 marooned persons from various parts of the state, the IAF also airlifted dozens of tonnes of relief material for distribution.
The Chinese see no need to fight directly. They have an able and willing proxy in Pakistan, points out Shekhar Gupta.
An Indian Air Force advanced landing ground at Vijaynagar, country's easternmost tip in Arunachal Pradesh, was re-opened on Friday by Governor General (Retd) J J Singh in presence of Air Marshal S Varthaman, air officer commanding-in-chief, eastern air command, Lieutenant General Rameshwar Roy, director general Assam Rifles, Air Vice Marshal KS Gill among other senior officials from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam Rifles and the IAF.
The Sukhoi-30 Mki was formally inducted at the Air Force Station at Chabua base in Assam on Tuesday. The induction was done through a ceremony with the inaugural flight of the SU 30 MKI taking off which also performed a overshoot before landing, according to a defence source.
With alertness very high post the surgical strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Uri attack, Indian Air Force is aggressively upgrading infrastructure in the eastern sector specially in Arunachal Pradesh.
"A number of older generation aircraft like MiG-21 are operating since early sixties. We have problems with the ageing fleets and their maintenance," Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Indian Air Force's (IAF) Eastern Air Command, Air Marshal Kishan Kumar Nohwar told a press conference in Shillong.
'The IAF has flown more than 100 hours in search operations. No effort is being spared to locate the missing aircraft,' the statement added.
Top commanders of the Indian Army on Monday carried out a comprehensive review of the country's security challenges, including in eastern Ladakh and other sensitive areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China, on the opening day of a four-day conference, people familiar with the developments said.
Conceding that people in the bordering areas do move into the neighbouring nation's territory at times, he termed it a common phenomenon on borders and said, "There is no danger from such movement."
He became the first helicopter pilot to be named chief of the Indian Air Force.
Tezpur is the last of the IAF bases in the country to phase out the MiG 21.
The indigenously developed light combat aircraft 'Tejas' would officially replace the MiG-21 FL fighter jet, Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne said on Thursday.
Under the direction of the ministry of external affairs, the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts are being progressed in conjunction with Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force, the defence ministry stated.
