Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha that IAF Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor in the military chopper crash in Tamil Nadu, is on life support in the Military Hospital at Wellington, Tamil Nadu.
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.
'I have only one life and that is enough.'
'I have a deep affection for Indian cricket. If someone asked me to come back, I wouldn't say no.'
The pilot ejected safely and a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, the IAF said in a brief statement.
The attack took place near Shashidhar in the evening when the vehicles were moving towards Sanai Top in the district's Surankote area.
'In those 10 seconds, they even made a MAYDAY call -- which is only issued in case of a serious, imminent emergency.'
General Naravane has been given charge as the chairman of the committee as he is the senior-most among the three service chiefs.
The capability of operating fighter aircraft from this area would strengthen the air force's ability to tackle any misadventures by the adversary in a faster way.
Group Captain Singh was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra, India's third highest peacetime gallantry award, in August this year for averting a possible mid-air accident after his Tejas light combat aircraft was hit by a major technical problem last year.
His ongoing Indian Premier League duty prevented Sachin Tendulkar from accepting a request for a personal meeting with a large group of wheel-chair bound soldiers in Pune, but the champion batsman interacted with them via a video conference on Friday, prior to his 38th birthday on Sunday.
'The Pakistanis were not the mujahids or terrorists as claimed initially.' .'They were trained soldiers who held state of the art anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down our airplanes.'
The IAF's mainstream fighter aircraft, the Sukhoi-30MKI and Jaguar, are set to square off with their American counterparts to execute some of the most realistic manoeuvres of its kind during Exercise Red Flag over Alaska starting April 28. Here's what you need to know.
'The accident was a result of entry into clouds due to unexpected change in weather conditions in the valley. This led to spatial disorientation of the pilot resulting in Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT),' it stated.
'Nine missiles from India had been pointed towards Pakistan, to be launched any time that day'
The vintage aircraft is expected to cover approximately a distance of 27,000 miles across 29 countries with a stopover at 100 different locations.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
The award is slated to be received by commanding officer Group Captain Satish Pawar on October 8.
The Indian Air Force carried out intensive night operations involving its fighter aircraft including the MiG-29 and Sukhoi-30MKI along with its Apache attack helicopters and the Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.
"These three officers have primarily been held responsible for the incident. Their services have been terminated by the central government with immediate effect. Termination orders have been served upon the officers on August 23," it said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a supplementary charge sheet in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland scam against former defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and four Indian Air Force personnel, officials said Wednesday.
The 17 squadron, which operated from Bhatinda air base, was disbanded in 2016 after the IAF started gradual phasing out of Russian-origin MIG-21 jets. It was formed in 1951 and initially flew de Havilland Vampire F Mk 52 fighters.
'Due to change in the weather, the challenges are increasing.' 'The morale of the air fighters is high and the availability of advanced equipment empowers them to face any enemy.'
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday called on President Ram Nath Kovind and briefed him about the chopper crash near Coonoor that killed Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 armed forces personnel.
The sortie had to be executed in good weather and in sub-zero temperatures, which meant it was to be accomplished by mid or third week in May before the earth heated up and the monsoon clouds made things difficult.
Condemning irresponsible social media posts and rejoicing over the demise of Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat in a military chopper crash, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said he has asked the police to identify and initiate legal action against them.
The aircraft was on a routine mission and crashed after getting airborne from the Nal airbase near Bikaner.
Here is a timeline of what happened to the Indian Air Force helicopter carrying Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat and others that crashed near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday:
The Indian Air Force on Thursday celebrated its 77th anniversary with a breathtaking display of air power by its frontline fighter aircrafts, followed by a thrilling aerobatics performance by its Surya Kiran and Sarang teams.
The weather and other conditions are at the moment looking good and it is expected to reach the Ambala air base on time.
Batting ace Sachin Tendulkar was on Friday conferred the Indian Air Force's honorary rank of Group Captain in honour of his cricketing achievements and contribution to the nation. He is the first sportsperson to be conferred a rank by the IAF and the first personality with no aviation background to receive the honour.
'No aeroplane in the world has been designed to switch off its engines above 14,500 feet.' 'Thanks to a lot of practice, we were able to execute a flawless landing at DBO at 0900 hours on 31st May, creating history.'
The chief of Indian Air Force P V Naik on Monday stated that he will seek special permission from the government so that India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar can experience a flight of Su-30MKI- the best fighter plane of IAF.
The four astronauts are -- Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Prathap, Ajit Krishnan, and Shubhanshu Shukla -- Modi said at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thumba near the Kerala state capital.
"Our judicial branch will study and if they find any truth in the allegations, then a fresh court martial will be ordered against those persons against whom she has made the allegations," a senior IAF officer said.
A retired Indian colonel working with the United Nations was killed in Gaza when the vehicle he was travelling in came under attack in strife-torn Rafah, the 'first international' casualty for the world body since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
As part of a massive rescue operation, three C-17 Globemaster aircraft of Indian Air Force have clocked nearly 150 flying hours in the last few days bringing back over 1,300 Indians from Djibouti after their evacuation from strife-torn Yemen.
Five Indian Air Force members, including two women, on Wednesday successfully scaled 8848-metre-high world's tallest peak Mt Everest from the southern side.
Group Captain of Indian Air Force, Bagdogra, M K Dey said the aircraft caught fire at 9:30 am while returning from a routine sortie. Three fire tenders fought for about half-an-hour to extinguish the blaze.
