The agency is probing the alleged payment of USD 5.70 million as commission to seal the deal, sources said.
India's defence sector presents an ordering opportunity worth $138 billion between fiscal years 2023-24 (FY24) and FY32, said a latest note by Nomura, which has initiated coverage on two defence-related players - Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and Bharat Electronics (BEL) - with a 'buy' rating. The research and broking house sees an upside potential of 28 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively in these two stocks from the current levels.
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.
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 avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The Chief of Air Staff, addressing a press conference ahead of the Air Force Day on October 8, asserted that the IAF will continue to remain deployed along the frontier in the region till complete disengagement takes place in the remaining contested areas.
Tata Group-owned Air India is considering buying more than 200 new planes with 70 per cent of them being narrow-bodied aircraft, aviation industry sources said on Sunday. While Air India has zeroed in on Airbus's A350 wide-bodied aircraft for the procurement, the talks with Airbus and Boeing for narrow-bodied aircraft is still on, they said. A wide-bodied plane like Airbus A350 has a bigger fuel tank that allows it to travel longer distances such as the India-US routes.
Bangladesh hopes to procure a submarine to boost the capabilities of its navy, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said at an event marking the induction of two patrol aircraft and three warships.
"Vishwaguru has created a new model of democracy where there are symbols and buildings of democracy but the soil of democracy is now missing," he said.
The aircraft was on a routine sortie over the sea off Goa.
Air India will require more than 6,500 pilots to operate 470 aircraft that are to be supplied by Airbus and Boeing in the coming years, according to industry sources. Seeking to expand fleet as well as operations, the airline has placed orders for acquiring a total of 840 aircraft that includes an option to buy 370 planes. This is one of the largest aircraft order by any airline. Currently, Air India has around 1,600 pilots to operate its 113 aircraft fleet and in recent times, there have been instances of ultra-long haul flights getting cancelled or delayed due to shortage of crew.
The Indian Navy has decided that the twin-seat Rafale will not be disqualified on the basis of its inability to operate from an aircraft carrier.
Sisi will be the first Egyptian President and the fifth leader from the Middle-East to grace the Republic Day celebrations as the chief guest. He is scheduled to arrive in India on January 24.
In a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, February 15, night, Nipun Aggarwal had said Air India, in addition to the order of 470 planes, had the option to purchase 370 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha on Monday said that "as on date, the DRDO is working on 55 mission mode projects out of which 23 projects are delayed".
The procurement proposals were approved by the Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the ministry said.
As India and the United States are set to begin negotiations on two transformational deals -- Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) and Reciprocal Defence Procurement Agreement (RDP) -- the Pentagon has said that the defence industries of the two nations will come together once the negotiations conclude.
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.
The decision to procure the fleet was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
An IAF "request for information" floated on the MoD website invites Indian companies to submit preliminary bids to supply the IAF with 106 PC-7 Mk II trainers. Ajai Shukla reports
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over-three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.
The French minister also referred to India's planned induction of a second aircraft carrier and indicated that France will be interested in supplying the carrier-based jets.
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.
"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.
It will be inducted into the IAF inventory at a ceremony in Jodhpur in presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari.
DRDO's failures over the decades have contributed significantly to India becoming the world's biggest weapons importer, points out Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested Delhi lawyer Gautam Khaitan in the case of alleged commission paid by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer to a UK-based NRI middleman to swing a three-aircraft deal with DRDO worth $210 million in its favour in 2008, officials said on Thursday.
Asserting that it exercises a choice which it believes is in its national interest, India on Tuesday said it has no difficulties with Russia on servicing of military equipment and spare parts in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine.
According to Madhavan, the delivery of the Tejas LCA to the IAF under the Rs 48,000-crore deal will begin from March 2024 and around 16 aircraft will be rolled out annually till the completion of the total supply of 83 jets.
There was no word on the much-anticipated procurement of 26 naval variants of Rafale fighter jets by India from France.
The delivery of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) to the Indian Air Force under a Rs 48,000-crore deal will begin from March 2024 and around 16 aircraft will be rolled out annually till the completion of the total supply of 83 jets, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited R Madhavan said on Sunday.
Shivangi Singh is part of the IAF's Golden Arrows squadron based out of Ambala in Punjab.
Prime Minister Modi's visit saw India and the US signing several major deals to boost cooperation in key areas such as defence, space and trade.
The Indian troops guarding the nearly 3,500-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) maintained an assertive approach in sync with the broader national security doctrine and procured a variety of military platforms and weapons to enhance their combat capabilities.
The Defence Ministry on Tuesday approved the procurement of arms and military equipment worth Rs 7,965-crore, including 12 light utility helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, according to an official statement.
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.
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Thursday took a sortie in Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, on the second day of the ongoing Aero India-2021 in Bengaluru.
In its first move to significantly expand the fleet after the Tatas took over, Air India has leased 25 Airbus narrow-body aircraft and five Boeing wide-body planes. These will enter service starting December, the company said on Monday. A wide-body plane has a bigger fuel tank, allowing it to travel longer distances such as India-US routes.
'Is this justice?' he asked on Twitter along with a video of a purported conversation between soldiers being transported in non-bullet proof vehicles. 'Our jawans are being sent in non-bullet proof trucks to get martyred and a Rs 8,400 crore aircraft is brought for the PM! Is this justice,' he said in a tweet in Hindi.
The defence budget was increased to Rs 5.94 lakh crore for 2023-24, up from last year's allocation of Rs 5.25 lakh crore.
