The deal is for the swapping of 18 Sukhoi fighter jets in service with the IAF for the latest version of air superiority multi-role warbirds tailored to meet Indian requirements
"Whether it was F-16 or JF-17 which shot down 2 Indian aircraft is immaterial," Pak military spokesman said.
The navy has begun deploying the ship-launched version of BrahMos in its warships in a phased manner.
In the light of India's increasingly 'darkening' threat environment and the convergence of strategic interests between China and Pakistan, the IAF's declining combat capabilities are a cause for concern, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
'We should have seen these signals and reacted earlier.' 'We miss out on a certain strategic advantage by arriving late on the scene.'
Built by HAL with Russian technology, the frontline twin-seater Sukhoi 30MKI was rolled at the Ozar airbase in Nashik.
The Indian Air Force celebrated its 82nd Air Force Day at the Hindon base on Wednesday.
SU-30 MKI is a twin-engine, twin-seater aircraft, which can simultaneously be operated as interceptor, bomber and trainer, sources said.
A formation of three IAF Mi-8 helicopters in the national tricolour and ensigns of the IAF and the aero show marked the start of the five-day event.
MiG-27 ML had proved its worth in various operations, including in Kargil and earned rich accolades in numerous international exercises held in India.
Russia has blamed "human factor" for the crash of a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft in October last year that led to the grounding of the entire fleet of India's frontline fighter plane for a month, a charge denied by the Indian Air Force.
The successful test will result in huge savings of replacement cost of missiles held in the inventory of the Indian Armed Forces.
'During the aerial engagement, one MiG 21 Bison of the IAF shot down an F-16 in Nowshera sector,' the IAF said in a statement.
The exercise, codenamed Vayu Shakti, will see all the fighter aircraft in the inventory of the IAF, including the just inducted Su-30MKI
The defence minister undertook a fighter sortie in a SU-30 MKI from the Lohegaon Air Force Station near Pune.
Over a dozen IAF planes, including Mirage-2000 fighters and Sukhoi 30s, besides 35,000 kg C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, took part in the exercise.
'The two countries are committed to maintaining and consolidating bilateral strategic partnership,' he said.
The IAF faces a 'fighter gap' of 13 squadrons. The IAF would be caught seriously short in a two-front war -- the worst-case planning contingency in which China and Pakistan attack India simultaneously, points out Ajai Shukla.
Two operational missile groups of the Indian Army -- one with the 150-250 km short-range Prithvi missiles and the other in charge of the longer-version 2,500 km Agni missiles, would form the nucleus of the new Strategic Forces Command.
We bring to you some of the best pictures from across the nation in the last one week.
The defence minister will spend about 30 to 45 minutes on board the IAF's frontline SU-30MKI.
Flight Lieutenant Srikant Sharma said that getting into the armed forces was a dream come true and this opportunity is an "icing on the cake".
'Their air force is no match to ours!'
In the early hours of Tuesday, 12 Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter jets entered Pakistani airspace and dropped 1,000-kg laser-guided bombs on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror launch pads across the Line of Control.
India has grounded its entire Sukhoi-30 fleet and each aircraft is undergoing a thorough technical check following a recent crash near Pune.
While its operating radius remains secret, a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates it can easily strike targets 1,000 kilometres away and return to base.
Indo-Russian joint venture firm BrahMos Aerospace on Monday said it is developing a smaller version of the 290-km supersonic cruise missile for enabling its deployment on submarines and smaller fighter aircraft such as MiG 29K.
Armed with rockets and missiles, these helicopters can rain fire on the enemy in rarefied altitudes.
HAL will build each Su-30 at just Rs 4.25 billion. The IAF is paying Rs 11.25 billion per Rafale, excluding the price of weapons and logistics.
India on Monday successfully test-fired the 290 km-range BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile from the country's largest indigenous warship INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka.
The tri-services chiefs while addressing the media also said that the forces were in a state of heightened readiness to deal with any eventuality.
'While fighter pilots must not be sent into combat in inferior aircraft, an obsessive quest for outright combat superiority will leave an air force short of numbers,' says Ajai Shukla.
This is perhaps the most authoritative portrayal so far of Indian air power as a threat to China.
The fighter plane has been untraceable since Tuesday.
An IAF microlite aircraft with two persons on board made an emergency precautionary landing on Sunday in a park near a metro station in east Delhi after the pilot suspected a problem in the plane.
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