Assistant Sub-Inspector Babu Ram and Constable Altaf Hussain Bhat of Jammu and Kashmir Police were on Saturday posthumously conferred with the Ashoka Chakra and the Kirti Chakra awards respectively on the eve of the 75th Independence Day. While the Ashoka Chakra is India's highest peacetime gallantry honour, Kirti Chakra is the second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards.
In response to a question in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said that the Army has the maximum shortage of 7,791 officers followed by 1,557 in the Indian Navy and 572 in the Indian Air Force.
'Unlike on the western and eastern borders where there is an enemy at the gate, here there is an invisible enemy which is building its own capability and can come into play at a time and place of his choosing.'
To ensure the morale of the pilots does not suffer, flying activity continues without a pause. Pilots take to the sky like they would on any other day.
'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.
MiG-27 ML had proved its worth in various operations, including in Kargil and earned rich accolades in numerous international exercises held in India.
The retirement of the Jaguar would create a six squadron gap in the IAF's combat fleet which would cost $20 billion-$30 billion to fill.
The Indian Navy has inducted two more Poseidon 8I maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, in a boost to its surveillance capabilities in the Indian Ocean in the face of China's increasing forays into the region.
Taking to Twitter, Tendulkar thanked the Indian soldiers for their services.
The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is the world's fastest operational system in its class and recently the DRDO has extended the range of the missile system from the existing 298 km to around 450 km.
An IAF spokesperson said the MiG-29 aircraft was on a training mission. "The aircraft had developed a technical snag and the pilot ejected safely as he was unable to control the aircraft," he said.
The Rafales could begin combat operations by September-October, reports Ajai Shukla.
The Russian origin aircraft, now capable of effecting mid-air refuelling, is compatible with latest missiles and can launch multi-dimensional attacks.
Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said that no country in the world is facing the kind of grave threat that India is confronted with.
"Few shots from 30,000 feet! Mid air refuelling of #RafaleJets on their way to #India," the Indian Embassy in France tweeted
Dhaka emerged as the free capital of independent Bangladesh on December 16, 1971 after the war between India and Pakistan broke out on December 3 when the Indian troops directly stood beside the Mukti Bahini soldiers.
Lieutenant Divya Sharma, Lt Shubhangi Swaroop and Lt Shivangi are now ready to take on all MR missions on Dornier aircraft, a defence spokesman said on Thursday.
The Indian Air Force has now decided to deploy its additional six C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft at Panagarh in West Bengal-- the likely location of a proposed Army Mountain Corps headquarter--, and not in Odisha.
The Rafale maritime fighter aircraft on Monday demonstrated its operational capability at a naval facility in Goa as the Navy plans to acquire a fleet of combat jets for its indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant, people familiar with the development said.
Wing Commander Sahil Gandhi was among the best fighter pilots of the Indian Air Force. He perished when the Hawk aircraft he was flying had a mid air collision in Bengaluru on February 19. Those who had flown with him tell Archana Masih/Rediff.com about the skilled flyer who had a fan following among young pilots.
'We were against politicisation of the defence acquisition process. It was a question of capability of the air force'
'My husband could have ejected early but that would have taken the lives of many other people'
Out of 36 Rafale jets, 30 will be fighter jets and six will be trainers.
Kanth joined the fighter squadron in November 2017 and flew the first solo on MiG-21 Bison in March 2018. She is currently posted at a fighter base in the western sector.
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.
With Honeywell demanding what Indian Air Force sources term an "exorbitant" price for F-125IN engines, the IAF has told HAL that it has abandoned its plan to upgrade 80 Jaguar fighters with new Honeywell engines, reports Ajai Shukla.
IAF Flying Officer Jawahar Lal Bhargava was forced to stayed in the POW camp at Rawalpindi for the year that followed only to be released in December 1972.
'You are to train three Bangladeshi pilots to fly this Chetak helicopter. Your task begins now.'
'Me and my boys had never ever thought in our wildest dreams that we would be taking part in a rescue mission of this kind.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe, a helicopter pilot himself, reports on how the air force rescued those trapped in the Deoghar cable cars disaster last fortnight.
'Windows shook and rattled, and the thunderous growl of the engines doused even the sound of our noisy helicopter till such time the plane had lifted itself into the skies and disappeared from view.'
'We airlifted army personnel wearing lungis to generally unused landing grounds.' 'We were told to keep quiet about what we did or saw.'
If the new request for 18 more fighters translates into a contract, the Sukhoi-30MKI fleet size will go up to 14 squadrons, or 290 fighters.
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 war of 1962 exposed the hollow intellectual foundations of Nehruvian foreign policy, especially vis-a-vis China and that is why it was such a shock.'
'We found the MiG-29s to be in excellent condition. They could make an excellent addition to our fleet,' a senior air marshal tells Ajai Shukla.
Flight Lieutenant Adivitiya Bal was killed in the line of duty along with Wing Commander Mohit Rana in last week's MiG-21 crash in Barmer. His school in Nagrota, Jammu, gave a final salute to a worthy ex-student.
The UK government has taken the unusual step of making a formal statement to warn of a Russian plot to install a pro-Kremlin leader in Ukraine amid growing tensions in the region.
The aircraft flew out from the airbase in the French port city of Bordeaux and will cover a distance of nearly 7,000 km with air-to-air refuelling and a single stop in the United Arab Emirates before arriving at Ambala airbase on Wednesday, officials said.
"The HAMMER missiles are in the process of being integrated with the LCA Tejas and it will significantly enhance its capability to take out hardened targets from stand-off distances," government sources told ANI.
Captain Sathe was a former Indian Air Force Test pilot. He was commissioned into service in 1981 and served in the force for 22 years.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances