The MQ-9B predator armed drones -- 10 each for three services -- is seen to be a key part of India's national security and defense needs.
The first batch of four Rafale aircraft will arrive in India by May 2020.
While Pakistan enjoys rough parity with India in legacy weapon systems, it is beginning to enjoy superiority in drone warfare, thanks to the RPVs supplied by China, explains Ajai Shukla.
A US-made C-130J military transport plane, one of the most modern aircraft acquired recently by the Indian Air Force, crashed on Friday near Gwalior, killing all the five crew members, including four officers.
'We were against politicisation of the defence acquisition process. It was a question of capability of the air force'
India has got the money and workforce, but no Indian firm has so far decided to do it
In a post on X, Modi said, "Happy to have welcomed @POTUS @JoeBiden to 7, Lok Kalyan Marg. Our meeting was very productive."
Banning the import of platforms that are already being built in India serves little purpose.
The army, air force and navy will all benefit from the defence ministry's approval of 'Make in India' equipment.
In the Union Budget presented in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a total of Rs 1,52,369 crore has been set aside for capital expenditure that includes purchasing new weapons, aircraft, warships and other military hardware.
From the seas to the stars, this partnership will now be deepened by the defining role of technology, the statement said.
The procurement will come at a cost of Rs 38,900 crore.
The sources said the second Rafale squadron being raised at the next main operating base at Hasimara in mid-April this year. India is expected to get more Rafale jets from France in the next couple of months.
In 2016, India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36-Rafale Jet aircraft at a cost Rs 59,000 crore.
The political row had erupted after the National Democratic Alliance government inked the Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016 to procure 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft for the Indian Air Force did not fructify during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime.
They noted that the exercise had begun in 2011 and an Inter-Ministerial Group submitted its recommendations in 2012 after meeting for 10 times.
Following the arrival of the new batch, the number of Rafale jets with the IAF went up to 24.
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.
Boeing is pressing hard to win the Indian Navy contract for 57 aircraft carrier-borne fighters. It could offer the Super Hornet in the ongoing IAF procurement of 114 medium fighters; its upgraded F-15EX fighter also on the list.
In an embarrassment to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a Delhi court on Thursday termed the arrest of an accused in a money laundering case linked to a UPA-era defence deal with aircraft manufacturer Embraer "illegal" and ordered his release.
The Congress urged Modi to come forward and order a JPC probe into the Rafale deal.
The Indian Navy plans to acquire a sizeable number of unmanned aerial and underwater platforms in the next few years to significantly ramp up its surveillance capability in the backdrop of China's increasing forays into the Indian Ocean region, people familiar with the development said on Sunday.
Dhanoa also hoped that the matter will be laid to rest saying that raking up such issues to get political gains, putting the interest of armed forces behind is not right.
When the Tatas re-boarded Air India on January 27 last year, the price of aviation turbine fuel was at over Rs 80,000 per kilolitre. Rupee was trading at around Rs 74 to a US dollar. The Omicron variant of Covid-19 was in prevalence - barely a week earlier, India had reported over 340,000 cases on a single day. Seven-day home quarantine of international travellers was the norm.
When the IAF veterans' bail petition came up for hearing, in an unprecedented move, senior serving and retired Air Marshals and Air Vice Marshals rallied behind the accused officers and appeared before the court to give sureties for each, something that has never happened ever before.
A senior government functionary claimed on Thursday that the average estimated cost of MQ-9B long endurance drones for India would be 27 per cent lower than the price incurred by other countries which have bought it from the US, asserting that it will most likely go further down during negotiations unless India seeks additional features.
The Congress on Monday sought a thorough probe in the Rafale defence deal and demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after a French media report claimed that 1.1 million (Rs 9.5 crore) was paid to a "middleman" by the aircraft manufacturer.
With the arrival of the new batch, the number of Rafale aircraft has increased to eight. The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.
'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'
There is concern about the poor state of readiness of the navy's 140 warships which face severe shortages in sonar equipment, helicopters and torpedoes.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday that India cannot remain dependent on other countries for its defence and that the indigenously developed Tejas was better than its foreign equivalents on several parameters and also comparatively cheaper.
The sixth batch of three more Rafale fighter jets took off from France for India on Wednesday, the Indian embassy in France said.
India on Tuesday signed a key pact with the Philippines for the sale of 'defence material and equipment', which are likely to include BrahMos cruise missiles.
The 101 Squadron is the second IAF squadron to be equipped with the Rafale fighter jets. In September last year, the Rafale aircraft were inducted into the 17 'Golden Arrows' Squadron.
The 5.8-tonne twin-engine gunship chopper is armed with air-to-air missiles, 20 mm turret guns, rocket systems and other weapons.
India and the US on Thursday said they are looking forward to the reconvening of the India-US Trade Policy Forum later this year to further enhance trade relationship and identify new areas for engagement.
The procurement is expected to signal a major upswing in India's strategic ties with the Philippines which has been focusing on ramping up its naval prowess in the face of its lingering friction with China in the South China Sea.
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.
Each plant will have a capacity to produce 40 litres of oxygen per minute and 2,400 litres per hour.
In his PIL, Sharma alleged discrepancies in the fighter jet deal with France and sought stay on it.
