Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu highlights challenges in aircraft procurement due to global supply chain disruptions, impacting India's aviation sector growth and expansion plans.
The Indian Air Force's Tejas light combat jets are scheduled to return to the skies next week after being grounded for two months due to a software glitch. HAL expects to deliver over 20 Tejas Mark 1A variants by December, but delays persist due to engine supply issues.
On Tuesday, December 2, 2025, the Defence Research and Development Organisation successfully conducted a high-speed rocket-sled test of a fighter aircraft escape system at the Rail Track Rocket Sled facility at the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory in Chandigarh.
HAL has assured the IAF that 12 Mk1A aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2025-2026.
AI reduces the time taken to find a target and launch a strike. This has led to a major increase in the pace of the conflict, with one report mentioning nearly 900 strikes launched on Iranian targets in the first 12 hours of an operation.
India's indigenous fighter jet programme reached a key milestone on Friday, October 17, 2025, as the Tejas Mk1A made its maiden flight at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's Nashik facility.
President Droupadi Murmu will fly in the indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) 'Prachand' at the Jaisalmer Air Force Station. She will also attend the IAF's mega firepower demonstration 'Vayu Shakti' at the Pokhran Field Firing Range.
The Russian agencies concerned are carrying out studies to determine the level of investments they will have to make to manufacture the aircraft in India, defence sources said.
Of the 156 LCH, 90 would be for the Indian Army while 66 would be for the Indian Air Force.
The 12 SU-30MKI jets for the Indian Air Force would be licensed manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at its Nashik facility and cost around Rs 13,000 crore.
The sources declined to specify the number of drones the Navy plans to acquire but said the focus is now on manufacturing the MK-II in India through partnerships with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Elcom.
The DRDO conducted the test in collaboration with the Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Even as the benchmark and broader indices were down sharply on Monday due to escalating tensions in West Asia, the Nifty Defence index ended the session in the green.
Watch the splendour of the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI as it soars gracefully through the skies, showcasing its power and precision at Aero India 2025.
India is set to take its first steps towards its own human space flight when the uncrewed Gaganyaan mission soars to the skies later this year. Private players in the space sector are also gearing up for launching satellites on home-built rockets.
The final approval for the acquisition of 97 LCA Mark 1A fighters was given by a high-level meeting on Tuesday and will pave the way for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to produce the aircraft, defence sources told ANI.
The HAL displayed for the first time the scale model HLFT-42, at the Aero India.
The value of contracts awarded by the MoD in 2024-2025 is the highest ever and double the previous record set in 2023-2024.
HAL executives said deliveries of the Tejas Mk1A to the IAF would begin within this year, but only after the successful completion of the weapons-firing trials currently underway.
The deal is expected to help HAL to get its complete requirement of 212 GE-404 engines in continuity, avoiding any types of delays in engine supplies.
Announcing the launch of "Mission Sudarshan Chakra", Modi said it will be aimed at neutralising enemy threat and enhancing India's offensive capabilities.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Sunday set the tone for the grand Aero India-2025 by flying in the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas in Bengaluru at Yelahanka based Air Force Station.
Private and public defence players can bid to participate in the stealth fighter development programme independently, as a joint venture, or as consortia.
The Indian Air Force is set to retire its fleet of MiG-21 fighter jets at a decommissioning event in Chandigarh. The event will mark the end of an era for the aircraft that has been a key part of the IAF's combat fleet for over six decades.
Indian Air Force aircraft will continue operations unabated to sustain India's ground forces on the frontlines during winter.
The enduring relationship between the two countries have survived the disintegration of the erstwhile USSR in 1991, the end of the Cold War and the regime change in both countries, points out Rup Narayan Das.
State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has won a bid under which it will receive technology from the Indian Space Research Organisation for the end-to-end commercial production of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), a first for the industry as India seeks to become a global hub for small satellite manufacturing and launches.
The defence ministry said 98 per cent of the total procurement worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore will be sourced from the domestic industries.
The Defence Ministry on Tuesday approved the procurement of arms and military equipment worth Rs 7,965-crore, including 12 light utility helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, according to an official statement.
Glimpses from Day 1 at Aero India 2025 at the Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru, India, February 10, 2025.
The Surya Kiran aerobatic team of the Indian Air Force will perform an air show ahead of the World Cup final in Ahmedabad on November 19.
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 team, popularly known as the ambassadors of the Indian Air Force, has the distinction of being among a handful of 9 aircraft formation aerobatic teams in the world.
HAL aims to raise output from the current ceiling of 24 aircraft a year to 30 by the end of 2027
Godrej Aerospace is a tier-1 manufacturer of precision and hi-tech aerospace components, assemblies, and systems, executing global projects that serve the defence, space, and aviation sectors.
'As humans, we haven't changed much'
Of the 156 choppers, 66 would be inducted by the Indian Air Force while the rest 90 would be acquired by the Indian Army.
Children, women and men lined up the streets of Bengaluru as Captain M V Pranjal's cortege made its way on the final 23 km journey from his home to the crematorium.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Wednesday handed over the first LCA Tejas twin-seater aircraft to the Indian Air Force.
The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
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