'The government has belied the hope that many harboured of change, efficiency and dismantling old practices as the defence ministry continues to pursue the same well trodden and wasteful path.'
An old fighter pilot remembers the best days of his life.
After a 7-year hiatus, Pakistan Monday showcased its growing military might, including tactical nuclear missiles and fighter jets, at a joint tri-service parade to celebrate the National Day in a symbolic show of strength in the war against the Taliban.
As a percentage of the military budget, the navy's share has fallen from 19 per cent in 2010-2011 to just 15.5 per cent this year. With the Indian Navy's annual budget declining steadily, security planners are reluctant to green light crucial projects, discovers Ajai Shukla.
Thirty-two years after the project was sanctioned, the first indigenously-built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft was on Saturday handed over by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the Indian Air Force, a red letter day for Indian defence and aerospace sector.
'The only credible explanation for the niggardly approach to defence expenditure must be that the government does not expect a war.' 'But wars can happen when you don't expect them, and re-arming at the last minute is not possible,' says T N Ninan.
Raja Chari is in training to go to space in 2019. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel presents the story of his journey from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to NASA. A Rediff.com Exclusive!
DRDO to develop an army version of the medium range surface-to-air missile.
Decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Vikrant's voyage came to an end on Friday as workers at the Darukhana ship-breaking yard in Mazgaon docks in Mumbai began scrapping down the warship.
'I will need a few more pictures, sir, can I get some time from you for a more extended photo shoot?' asked Singh. Modi, ever-obliging before the camera, laughed. 'Sure, but let us plan to do it after my swearing-in is over in May!' The Balakot effect was evident. A fascinating excerpt from Rajdeep Sardesai's 2019: How Modi Won India.
Vice Admiral Lanba, 58, is a qualified specialist in navigation and direction course and will have a full three-year-term in office till May 31, 2019.
Chidambaram said he feels that Dassault 'is laughing all the way to the bank', as the NDA government gave a 'gift'.
Even as three Rafale fighters line up in Bengaluru for eye-popping aerobatics displays at the Aero India 2015 exhibition this week, senior ministry of defence sources say the proposal to buy the French fighter is "effectively dead".
One sees a lot more of the aliens in this edition though not necessarily in a good way, wites Sukanya Verma.
More than four decades ago, the Nixon administration knowingly broke United States law to help the Pakistani army against Bangladesh and encouraged China to mass troops on Indian border to oppose the strong stand taken by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, according to a new book.
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.
His demise marks an end of a glorious era of the Indian Air Force.
India may scrap negotiations with Dassault for 126 Rafale fighter jets. Instead, it is likely to buy over 60 jets in a flyaway condition.
The two countries are interested in the current version of the Tejas and not the upgraded one which will be rolled out later.
Indian Air Force Commander claims Su30-MKIs beat the British Royal Air Force's Typhoon FGR4s 12-0 during Indradhanush 2015. The opponents dismisses it 'clouded recollection'. What really happened, we will never know and do we really need to?
Now the the job of searching out and destroying enemy submarines in the waters off India's coast will fall to the navy's new fleet of a dozen Boeing P-8I aircraft, reports Ajai Shukla.
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.
In a major milestone in the country's military aviation, indigenous supersonic fighter aircraft LCA-Tejas on Friday received the Initial Operational Clearance, that takes it a step closer to its induction into the Indian Air Force squadron.
Beyond the British and Russian strands interwoven into the Indian Navy's equipment profile and the strong drive towards indigenisation evident today, its future in aircraft carriers appears increasingly linked with America.
'Wing Commander Abhinandan would not have even worried if he was going to cross the LoC or not because he was not going to let go of a shot.'
If these reports are true, it means that it possesses something much more powerful than it has tested in the past. North Korea has run nuclear tests in the pasts, but this announcement has sent panic waves internationally.
5 planes and 13 ships are out trying to track the aircraft, which was carrying 29 people on board.
'The defence minister needs to focus on human resources-related issues at the same pace in 2017 as he did on acquisitions in 2016,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'She has to get the funds, cut through bureaucratic flab, speed up modernisation, ensure planned acquisitions stick to timelines, make organisational changes and ensure the military is capable of performing the task that it is given,' says Brigadier S K Chatterjee (retd).
'As the tanks roll down Delhi's Rajpath and the C-17s fly overhead, there could be a lot brewing in Hyderabad House,' says Surya Gangadharan.
Women pilots will soon fly fighter jets of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said on Thursday.
What the new defence minister does with the Rafale fighter jet deal will decide if India wants to build genuine, long-term defence capability through an indigenous product that slashes life-cycle costs, or opt for glitzy signing ceremony with foreign vendors that would please the public, says Ajai Shukla.
'When the Americans are talking about colonising Mars by 2030, India cannot be lagging behind.'
The French government has rejected Indian negotiators' demand for a 50 per cent offset clause citing sharp cost escalation but offered to participate in 'Make in India' projects to carry forward the talks for 36 Rafale fighter jets that have hit turbulence.
In a subtle show of strength to China, the Indian Air Force on Tuesday landed its C-130J Super Hercules transport plane at the world's highest and recently-activated Daulat Beg Oldie airstrip in Ladakh near the Line of Actual Control, the scene of a stand-off with Chinese troops in April.
The successful test firing of medium range surface-to-air missiles is welcome news for the IAF.
Every demand of the armed forces remains essentially anchored to 1964 and its fulfilment or otherwise largely a function of money availability
It came under severe criticism from the CAG on Friday as it pointed out that its Mark-I version has 53 'significant shortfalls'.
Rafale deal will bring relief to IAF: Parrikar
Navy chief Adm. Sunil Lanba said that by 2050, India will have 200 ships, 500 aircraft.
