In what was perhaps the most critical meeting before full-scale war broke out, Shastri defined India's immediate war objectives to his defence minister, army, and air force chiefs: 'To defend against Pakistan's attempts to grab Kashmir by force and to make it abundantly clear that Pakistan would never be allowed to wrest Kashmir from India; To destroy the offensive power of Pakistan's armed forces...' A fascinating excerpt from Shiv Kunal Verma's must-read 1965: A Western Sunrise India's War With Pakistan.
An Indian Air Force C-130 J aircraft carrying 15 tonnes of relief material, including tents, blankets, sleeping bags, food packets, hygiene kits, generators, and essential medicines, landed in Yangon on Saturday, March 29, 2025.
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.
Congress leader Uttam Kumar Reddy said the country wanted to know whether any aircraft were downed during the conflict, especially in the wake of the CDS' "admission".
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.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused the government of misleading the nation on the India-Pakistan conflict and demanded holding a special session of Parliament immediately, following Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan's acknowledgement of aircraft loss in the hostilities.
The indigenously designed and developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH-Dhruv) and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will not be part of the upcoming Republic Day flypast in India due to the grounding of the entire fleet of ALH-Dhruv helicopters following a crash earlier this month. The grounding of the helicopters is a result of a Coast Guard ALH crash in Porbandar, Gujarat on January 5, which claimed the lives of two pilots and an aircrew diver. The decision to exclude the ALH-Dhruv and Tejas from the flypast comes as a high-level probe panel investigates the cause of the crash.
Glimpses from Day 1 at Aero India 2025 at the Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru, India, February 10, 2025.
'As humans, we haven't changed much'
Indian Air Force chief P V Naik on Friday described the current security scenario in India's neighbourhood as a "volcano" that may erupt anytime and asked the air warriors to be prepared to meet both internal and external challenges. "The current security scenario is like a volcano and may test your skills anytime without warning. These times require swift action," Naik said while addressing the Air Force Day parade in Hindon, Ghaziabad
We need to equip the Indian Armed Forces, not 'commercial' as Trump wants, but 'operationally' looking at growing Chinese military capabilities, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Additional Director General of Police, Jammu, Anand Jain and senior officers of the Army and intelligence agencies visited the ambush spot in the Surankote area. The Army also conducted aerial surveillance using a helicopter, they said.
Wing Commander Vyomika Singh's role at the press briefing for Operation Sindoor is consistent with her experience as a helicopter pilot in Jammu and Kashmir during the course of her career.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Saturday acknowledged losses of aircraft in India's recent military hostilities with Pakistan but dismissed as 'absolutely incorrect' Islamabad's claim of downing six Indian fighter jets.
"The LCA Tejas was deployed by the Indian Air Force on the western front close to the Pakistan border to take care of any possible action by the adversary there," government sources told ANI.
To strengthen its capabilities in Ladakh along the borders with China and Pakistan, Indian Air Force is going to upgrade its airfields at Kargil and Nyoma for fighter and heavy transport aircraft operations. "Defence ministry has given its clearance for expanding Nyoma airbase, the proposal is awaiting clearance from Cabinet Committee on Security," IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne said in New Delhi on Monday.
The delivery of the jets -- capable of carrying a range of potent weapons and missiles -- is scheduled to begin from September next year.
'You can be sure that the Pakistanis knew when the Indian Air Force aircraft took off, which type these were, and what their likely targets were.' 'The question was: How would they determine that the IAF wanted to fire, and when to bounce them?', notes Shekhar Gupta.
Ex-IAF chief S P Tyagi will undergo further custodial questioning for three more days as the Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday told a court that AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam was a "very serious" case requiring his interrogation to unearth the larger conspiracy as the "interest of the nation was compromised".
The move is seen as a gamechanger in guarding the strategically important Indian Ocean Region.
The Indian Air Force's move comes over a year after the Navy made changes in its ensign shedding its colonial past.
Of the 156 choppers, 66 would be inducted by the Indian Air Force while the rest 90 would be acquired by the Indian Army.
Ruling out the possibility of an immediate threat from China, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik said that the 1962 Chinese aggression against India will not be repeated. "No immediate aggression is in sight. It will not be repeated. We have the required air defence capabilities to counter any eventuality and have certainly improved it over a period of time," Naik told reporters on the sidelines of Commanders' Conference of Maintenance Command at Vayusena Nagar in Nagpur.
Tyagi, arrested on December 9 in AgustaWestland chopper scam case, was granted bail by a special court in New Delhi.
India will conduct nationwide civil defense mock drills on Wednesday, including air-raid warning sirens and training civilians to protect themselves in the event of a "hostile attack." The drills come amid rising tensions with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. The Ministry of Home Affairs has instructed all states and union territories to participate in the exercise, which will be conducted up to the village level.
A general court martial (GCM) instituted by the Indian Air Force has ordered the sacking of a group captain for the crash of an Mi-17 V5 helicopter in Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir after it was hit by a missile on February 27, 2019, official sources said on Tuesday.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Wednesday handed over the first LCA Tejas twin-seater aircraft to the Indian Air Force.
Images from the investiture ceremony of batting ace Sachin Tendulkar as Indian Air Force honorary Group Captain.
The AH-64E Apache is one of the world's most advanced multi-role combat helicopters, and is flown by the US army.
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 Bahawalpur centre is notorious for hoarding arms and ammunition left behind by the NATO forces in Afghanistan, the officials said.
Dismissing as 'nonsense' allegation that Indian Air Force personnel abandoned an injured policeman in a chopper, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne on Thursday said there should be end to 'sniping' at each other by security agencies in Naxal areas as it would affect operations there.
With a view to increase its surveillance capabilities, the Indian Air Force is going to have its own satellite in space by the end of 2010. "We will launch our satellite by the end of 2010," IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major said in Bangalore on Thursday.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi revealed that 300 to 400 drones were deployed across 36 locations, with several being shot down by Indian forces using both kinetic and non-kinetic methods.
Dhanoa said that IAF's preparedness was amply displayed in the recently concluded exercise Gaganshakti.
Fighter jets and helicopters hit targets during day and night.
'For god's sake, portray the armed forces in the correct manner,' asserts IAF veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe after watching Tejas.
The court asked them to furnish a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh with one surety of the like amount.
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.
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