There is considerable discomfort within the defence ministry about the Rafale deal.
The defence ministry on Wednesday announced a fresh list of 351 sub-systems and components that will not be allowed to be imported under a staggered timeline beginning December next year.
The Light Combat Helicopter will enable the army to provide fire support to soldiers at altitudes of 15,000 to 20,000 feet, where the oxygen-depleted air prevents them from carrying weaponry heavier than their personal rifles and light machine guns.
The Akash missile systems have over 96 percent indigenous components and the weapon can hit targets at a range of 25 km.
'My adrenalin kicked in and the happiness returned! It was time to go in for the kill again.' IAF Veterans Group Captain Dilip Kumar Dass tells Air Commodore Nitin Sathe about how the IAF decimated tanks in the famous Battle of Longewala.
The IAF is down to 34 squadrons. This will dip to 30 squadrons by the end of this decade, as nine squadrons of MiG-21 and MiG-27s retire.
Though this time India's first astronaut remained earth bound, P Rajendran/Rediff.com finds out more about his journey off the beaten track along America's East Coast.
Currently women are allowed in a number of select areas including in medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings of the army.
Defence Minister A K Antony is flying down to Bangalore to award the Tejas its initial operational certificate on Friday. The Sitara's success in intensive flight-testing this year means that he could soon be making another trip to award an identical certification to the Sitara.
The Bengaluru skies dazzled with somersaults and stunts by metal birds.
'Make in India is one of the priorities identified by Minister Sitharaman and this is our great weakness,' warns Vice Admiral Premvir Das.
Dassault Aviation chief Eric Trappier has made it clear it would take at least three years to deliver 36 Rafales to the Indian Air Force.
The defence ministry took the decision to hold the biennial event as scheduled following inputs from major stakeholders including the domestic defence industry and global aerospace majors, official sources said.
Defence minister claims MoD 'alive and kicking' after 'getting the weeds out'.
Boeing is pressing hard to win the Indian Navy contract for 57 aircraft carrier-borne fighters. It could offer the Super Hornet in the ongoing IAF procurement of 114 medium fighters; its upgraded F-15EX fighter also on the list.
'The range of purchases throw a light on India's threat perception as also its perceived role of being a stabilising influence in the region,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
What does a fighter pilot feel as he takes off and lands his battle-ready aircraft? Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) takes you through those emotions.
Asked whether the IAF can play a role in smashing terrorist training camps across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, he did not rule out such a possibility.
The theme of the President's Fleet Review-2022 was 'Indian Navy -- 75 years in Service of the Nation', commemorating the Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
The new minister must commit himself to supporting long-term defence plans or else defence modernisation will continue to lag and the growing military capabilities gap with China will assume ominous proportions, warns Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
The Karnataka BJP core committee had proposed only Tejaswini's name for the Lok Sabha seat, but Tejaswi Surya emerged the dark horse.
On June 8, 2006, President APJ Abdul Kalam became the first Head of State to fly a fighter plane, when he flew the Sukhoi-30 MKI at the Lohegaon Air Force Base in Pune.
The National Democratic Alliance government has adopted half measures instead of moving decisively on defence.
Out of the total 22 tableaux, 16 were of various states and UTs and six of ministries, departments and the National Disaster Response Force.
All equipment from the Army which were part of the Republic Day celebrations are made-in-India, Chief of Staff Delhi Area Maj Gen Bhavnish Kumar had earlier said.
The defence ministry has already shortlisted two Indian shipyards and five foreign defence majors for the project, being billed as one of biggest "Make in India" ventures.
Its advanced Longbow radar picks up enemy armoured vehicles and then destroys them with anti-tank missiles, air-to-surface rockets or a chain gun that sends 625 rounds per minute ripping into the targets.
The ministry of defence has unwisely decided to build just two squadrons of the already developed aircraft -- Tejas Mark I -- and to start developing an even more capable Tejas Mark II. This is an enormous blunder, says Ajai Shukla
Airbus' $99 million payout puts a new light on Eurofighter's 'unsolicited bid' to the Modi government, reducing the cost of the Typhoon fighter by 20 per cent, making it in retrospect significantly cheaper than the Rafale.
"When you tell one lie, you need to keep spinning out more lies, to cover up the first one. In her eagerness to defend the PM's Rafale lie, the RM lied to Parliament," Gandhi tweeted.
'Nowhere amidst the efflorescence of 13 military bands, 16 marching contingents and 22 tableaux was there any hint that far from being a rich country of poor people, the closely guarded secret is that India is a poor country of extremely rich people,' notes Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
The cost of acquiring the advanced light helicopters from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has been estimated at Rs 3,850 crore while a batch of rocket ammunition will cost Rs 4,962 crore, the defence ministry said.
The attorney general admitted that there is no sovereign guarantee, but asserted that there is a letter of comfort by France which would be as good as a governmental guarantee.
Modi first mentioned about his vision for an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India) in his address to the nation on May 12 while announcing a Rs 20 lakh-crore stimulus package to boost the economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, various ministries and departments have announced a series of measures.
'It appears that Prime Minister Modi has to undo 50 years of State monopoly in the defence sector during which public undertakings like HAL or DRDO monopolised defence production and development with disastrous consequences.'
'The tank battle was fought at ranges of 300-700 metres.' 'It was a rare example of the complete destruction of a squadron by another squadron.'
"A mere 5-6 per cent of defence budget for R&D is inadequate to meet the aspirations of India's defence needs especially when China spends about 20 per cent of their defence budget for R&D," said the DRDO chief.
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
The defence modernisation had "slowed down" in the last few years and providing the required equipment to the armed forces in a speedy manner would be the top priority of the Modi government, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Tuesday.
According to officials, the list of 101 items includes towed artillery guns, short range surface to air missiles, cruise missiles, offshore patrol vessels, electronic warfare systems, next generation missile vessels, floating dock, anti-submarine rocket launchers and short range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
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