'Rafale is much more advanced and lethal than the current fighter aircraft available with China. The timing of the arrival of the jets is perfect'
With increase in range and payload capability, Madhavan said the new variant will be much superior than Tejas Mark-IA, 73 of which are being procured by the Indian Air Force from the HAL under a Rs 48,000 crore deal that was approved by the government on January 13.
Expected to offer Gripen NG fighter aircraft or a possible joint collaboration in manufacturing single engine light combat planes.
Swedish defence major Saab has unveiled its next generation fighter aircraft, Gripen E, which the company said is being offered to the country under the 'Make in India' initiative with transfer of technology.
We are going to deliver 36 aircraft. If the government of India wants more aircraft, we will be pleased to deliver, he said.
The Rafale jet deal, signed on September 23, 2016, in the frame of an Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and France, has been in news over the last few months.
The fleet landed at Al Dhafra airbase on Monday in the United Arab Emirates after flying for over seven hours from the Merignac airbase. It was the only stopover by the jets while flying from France to India.
The first batch of four Rafale aircraft will arrive in India by May 2020.
Notably, the IAF recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the IIT-Madras to develop indigenous solutions to maintain various weapon systems.
The Southeast Asian nation has been focusing on modernising its military in the face of myriad security challenges as well as decades-long territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
Boeing expects the IAF to soon place an inquiry for twin-engine fighter jets to bridge a 200-aircraft gap in its armoury. And the Super Hornet is ready to fly in.
The IAF chief stressed on the ongoing development of advanced landing ground along the Himalayas.
The IAF has just 33 squadrons, 9 short of the 42 squadrons needed to tackle China and Pakistan together, says Ajai Shukla.
Capable of flying at Mach 2.5 (two-and-a-half times the speed of sound), the F-15EX is the world's fastest fighter aircraft. It carries 13.5 tonnes of weapons load, more than the Rafale or the Sukhoi-30MKI.
The mesmerizing march included elite marching contingents, missiles, warplanes, surveillance gadgets and lethal weapon systems, with French President Emmanuel Macron gracing the occasion as the chief guest.
French investigative journal Mediapart has made fresh claims that alleged bogus invoices were used that enabled French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation to pay at least 7.5 million euros in secret commissions to a middleman to help it secure the Rafale deal with India.
It is learnt that the Chinese JF-17 was cheaper but could not match the technical parameters of the Tejas Mk-IA variant and the offer of maintenance of the Su-30 fleet as proposed by India.
Though Singh will receive the first of the 36 Rafale jets on Tuesday, the first batch of four aircraft will come to India only by May next year.
Sitharaman said the weapon systems, avionics and other key add-ons to the Rafale aircraft, will be 'much superior' than that negotiated by the UPA.
In its report tabled in Parliament, the national auditor said the Dassault Aviation and the MBDA proposed in September 2015 to discharge 30 per cent of their offset obligations by offering high technology to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), but the two firms are yet to do it.
The plea also seeks details of comparative prices during UPA and NDA rule.
The top court had rejected the objections raised by the Centre that those documents were not admissible as evidence under Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act, and no one can produce them in court without the permission of the department concerned as they are also protected under the Official Secrets Act.
Gandhi said he had made the statements in the heat of political campaigning which have been misused by his opponents.
'We were against politicisation of the defence acquisition process. It was a question of capability of the air force'
Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the Modi government and Anil Ambani over the Rafale issue, saying that in order to bag India's biggest defence contracts one has to be a "defaulter of Rs 45,000 crore" and have "no relevant experience".
With the United Progressive Alliance-II's tenure coming to an end, France had wanted India to sign a pact to provide government guarantee for completion of negotiation for 126 fighter aircraft with Dassault company but Defence Minister A K Antony has refused to do so.
This is the first time since Independence that a new operational branch is being created, Chaudhari said in his speech on the occasion of 90th anniversary celebrations of the IAF.
India does not have the facilities needed for developing advanced aerospace products. There is only one wind tunnel in the country, the almost six decade old one in the National Aeronautics Laboratory.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar says global aircraft makers will have to get approval from their own governments to transfer technology and build jets in India.
In rebranding the F-16 into the F-21, Lockheed Martin appears to have accepted what many have warned it for years: That the IAF would never buy a fighter whose very name is associated across India with the Pakistan Air Force which has operated the F-16 since the 1980s.
The Indian Air Force prides itself as being the fourth largest in the world. As IAF gets set to enter an era of modernisation, rediff.com gives you a peek inside its hangars.
Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria's plan includes building 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft in quick time to fill the light fighter vacancies left by the retirement of MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighters.
The situation that developed in eastern Ladakh last year required acclimatisation of a large number of IAF personnel and stretching of equipment to limits, but the force is "much better prepared" now in case there is a "long haul", Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said on Thursday.
A Court of Inquiry into the incident has been ordered.
The Indian Air Force has 31 fighter squadrons as against authorised strength of 42 squadrons.
Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne, has sugarcoated his bid to import 106 basic trainer aircraft from Pilatus Aircraft Co, by proposing that Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd build the trainers in Bengaluru to blueprints supplied by the Swiss company.
SAAB's Sea Gripen constitutes a new option as the INS Vikrant's light fighter
The Congress urged Modi to come forward and order a JPC probe into the Rafale deal.
In his PIL, Sharma alleged discrepancies in the fighter jet deal with France and sought stay on it.
The BJP MP in her plea alleged that Gandhi has attributed his personal remarks to the top court and tried to create prejudice.
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