It is the first visit abroad by a senior Union minister in four months as foreign travels were restricted in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
It came under severe criticism from the CAG on Friday as it pointed out that its Mark-I version has 53 'significant shortfalls'.
Commissioned on December 14, 1974 in the fighter stream of the IAF, Raha has held various command, staff and instructional appointments in his 39-year-old career.
The group said Dassault choose Reliance Defence Ltd to meet its 'offset' or export obligation in the contract and the Ministry of Defence has no role in the selection of Indian partners by the foreign vendors.
Two lessons from the closure of the Barak investigation: be careful with investigations, and buy from the US or Russia through transparent protocols. Premvir Das examines
The defence minister said that the expenditure has been highest in 2017-18. In the same manner, it was second highest in 2016-17 and third highest in 2015-16. The fourth highest defence expenditure since 2004-05 was in 2014-15.
Unperturbed by the US entry into the Indian market, the defence official said it would not make a dent in Israeli defence sales to New Delhi.
On the Iranian nuclear crisis, Aziz said Pakistan does not want a new theatre of war in its borders. "It is a very complex issue. Pakistan certainly does not want a new theatre of arms conflict in this region which is already marred by conflicts."
"Our armed forces have shown utmost restraint in tackling terrorists in Kashmir Valley despite grave provocations," he said in his address on the All India Radio on the eve of Independence Day.
The report also revealed that the United States was still king with its expenditure representing about 40 per cent of the total Global Defence budget. India overtook Saudi Arabia and Russia to become one of the top five defence spenders globally.
India had claimed that Pak deployed US-manufactured F-16 jets to target Indian military installations.
He claimed the NDA government bought the planes at Rs 1,600 crore a piece as against the Rs 526 crore for each aircraft fixed by the UPA.
The three-day DPG meet will discuss future activities and look at threat perception on a conceptual level.
Nambiar co-sponsored by the Aspen Strategy Group and the Confederation of Indian Industry, acknowledged that there was no question that "the defence realationship between the two countries is one of the strongest pillars."
The IAF has insisted it hit its targets. If that is indeed true, then the lack of obvious damage could mean it has used a different bomb -- possibly procured secretly from Israel.
"What I said was if we had Rafale at the time (of aerial dogfight), then none of our fighter jets would have gone down and none of theirs saved," he added.
US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in New Delhi on Thursday on a three-day visit and is expected to discuss regional security situation, defence deals worth over Rs 20,000 crore and joint military hardware development projects with the Indian political and military leadership.
Lockheed, which has a longstanding relationship of 25 years with India, unveiled the F-21 during the Aero India show in Bengaluru in February, saying it will address the Indian Air Force's unique requirements.
India-China relations have always attracted Parliament's attention and there have always been useful and productive and constructive discussions how to engage with China, notes Rup Narayan Das.
The PM's vision of a lean, agile, mobile and technology driven force requires more than 1.7 percent of GDP that it now gets.
Excluding the pension outgo, the allocation in the Union Budget for the armed forces stands at Rs 3.62 lakh crore.
The defence ministry has put on hold all existing and future deals with Rolls Royce pending a CBI probe ordered into allegations of bribery and engaging middlemen in contracts worth Rs 10,000 crore for supply of aircraft engines to state-owned HAL.
The IAF is down to 34 squadrons. This will dip to 30 squadrons by the end of this decade, as nine squadrons of MiG-21 and MiG-27s retire.
Lakshya was flown as a support system to gauge the precision control of the short range missile.
The long-delayed aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya will be inducted into Indian Navy by Defence Minister A K Antony during his Russia visit slated between November 15-17.
A salvo from a Pinaka battery brings down on the enemy more than seven tonnes of high explosive in just 44 seconds.
Making it clear that one car cannot travel on two roads at the same time, India said all future deals for Rafale fighters would also be through government to government route, indicating that the USD 20 billion MMRCA tender has virtually been scrapped.
One of the most sought after exhibitions in Asia, as many as 549 companies are participating this year with 53 fighter aircraft on display.
The defence ministry has lost sight of what it intended to achieve -- which was to nurture private defence firms that would compete on equal terms with the 9 defence PSUs and the 41 Ordnance Factory Board factories.
The Singapore government on Wednesday conveyed to the Indian High Commissioner its strong objection to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's comments about a 'Singapore variant' of COVID-19, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
The defence ministry on Friday scrapped a scam-tainted tender worth over Rs 6,000 crore to procure 197 light helicopters from foreign vendors and decided to allow indigenous players to manufacture these choppers for the armed forces.
'He was an embodiment of old school courtesy and grace. It was embarrassing when he would insist on receiving and seeing off guests at the gate of his house! A trait he shared with another of great soldiers of India, Sam Manekshaw!' remembers Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Congress has launched an offensive against the Bharatiya Janata Party government over the Rafale deal, alleging corruption and violation of rules by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanded answers from him.
First Deputy General of the MiG Corporation said, 'We cannot bear responsibility for spare parts.'
There is considerable discomfort within the defence ministry about the Rafale deal.
The BJP alleged that former French president Francois Hollande is part of the "nexus" to sabotage the procurement.
Finance Minister Jaswant Singh on Friday assured the nation that acquisition of Advance Jet Trainer aircraft would not be held up for lack of funds.\n\n\n\n
Its advanced Longbow radar picks up enemy armoured vehicles and then destroys them with anti-tank missiles, air-to-surface rockets or a chain gun that sends 625 rounds per minute ripping into the targets.
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.
Directly accusing Modi of corruption in the deal for the French fighter planes, he said the prime minister had favoured his businessman "friend" Anil Ambani by getting him the "contract".
