Capable of flying at Mach 2.5 (two-and-a-half times the speed of sound), the F-15EX is the world's fastest fighter aircraft. It carries 13.5 tonnes of weapons load, more than the Rafale or the Sukhoi-30MKI.
Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria's plan includes building 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft in quick time to fill the light fighter vacancies left by the retirement of MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighters.
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.
A top United States lawmaker has introduced a "joint resolution" in the House of Representatives to express Congress's disapproval over an arms deal with Pakistan which includes the sale of eight nuclear-capable F-16 fighter jets to the latter.
In 2013, India had displayed the Inter Continental Ballistic Missile Agni V during the Republic Day Parade. The chief guest at that time was Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
'If UAV technology is used by the adversary to target VIPs or strategic targets it would be a different ball game altogether,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
The IAF has just 33 squadrons, 9 short of the 42 squadrons needed to tackle China and Pakistan together, says Ajai Shukla.
India on Monday signed a nearly USD 3 billion (around Rs 198 crore) deal for purchase of 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers with American aviation giant Boeing and the US government.
While reserving the verdict, the apex court had said that the pricing details of Rafale jets could only be discussed after it decides on whether to make it public.
The upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft will be installed with India-made multi-function displays under an Indo-French partnership, as part of a programme to enhance the operational life of multi-role fighters by around 20 years.
According to officials, the list of 101 items includes towed artillery guns, short range surface to air missiles, cruise missiles, offshore patrol vessels, electronic warfare systems, next generation missile vessels, floating dock, anti-submarine rocket launchers and short range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
Pakistan and China have launched the production of a new variant of the JF-17B 'Thunder' multi-role combat jet to be inducted into the Pakistan Air Force by April next year.
The Indian Army has an inventory of over 500,000 items. At any time, the army has to be ready to rapidly deploy resources to various locations at short notice. Improved efficiency can occur with automation- and technology-based processes.
The Defence Acquisition Council on Wednesday approved proposals worth Rs 4,444 crore, including the purchase of four helicopters for survey vessels at Rs 2,324 crore, but deferred a decision on a joint bid of Tata Sons Ltd and Airbus for replacing IAF's Avro transport fleet.
"It is my first sortie in Tejas, it is a good aircraft for induction into IAF operations," Raha was quoted as saying by the aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
PNS Aslat was built in a shipyard in Karachi with technology transferred by China. China has delivered three more F-22P guided missile frigates to Pakistan under a 2005 contract.
The attorney general admitted that there is no sovereign guarantee, but asserted that there is a letter of comfort by France which would be as good as a governmental guarantee.
Shanghai-based military analyst Ni Lexiong said the overhaul marked a significant strategic shift from having a homeland-based defensive force to one with the capacity to allow Beijing to flex its muscles beyond its national borders and to protect its interests overseas.
The missile system can target aircraft up to 30 km away, at altitudes up to 18,000 metres. It has the capability to neutralise aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles.
The agreement would divert China's attention and keep them busy in the Pacific theatre, probably resulting in a reduction in threat perception in our area of interest in the Indian Ocean, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
HAL will build each Su-30 at just Rs 4.25 billion. The IAF is paying Rs 11.25 billion per Rafale, excluding the price of weapons and logistics.
Indian Air Force on Friday raised its first squadron of the home-grown Light Combat Aircraft Tejas with the induction of two aircraft into the force at the Aircraft System Testing Establishment in Bengaluru.
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 government cleared a multi-billion dollar deal for attack helicopters and heavy-lift choppers with American aviation giant Boeing.
The maximum number of banks are from the US (74), followed by China (29) and South Korea (26).
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.
With the IAF having rejected variants of 4 of the contending aircraft -- the Super Hornet, F-16, Gripen C/D and MiG-35 -- in flight trials carried out between 2009-2011 in the MMRCA tender, are the current contenders improved enough to pass flight trials conducted to the same standards?
The two countries are interested in the current version of the Tejas and not the upgraded one which will be rolled out later.
'The air force has treated the Tejas like a step child.' 'The Tejas has grown in capability, but the IAF has preferred foreign fighters like the Rafale.'
In fact, given the current tensions and massed troops on both sides, there is a danger that the LAC will become more like the Line of Control with Pakistan, a heavily fortified and strongly defended border where weapon fire exchanges regularly occur. Indeed, Stratfor Worldview research has listed a sharp increase in new Chinese facilities along the LAC in 2019-20.
The event witnessed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in the Bahraini capital.
'It is in electronics that the gap between where we are and where we need to be is most obvious and most persistent.' 'It is not only a national security issue, but also a commercial issue,' argues Rajeev Srinivasan.
Group Captain Murli Menon (retd) reveals how India can neutralise the Pakistan air force's combat capabilities without firing a shot.
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.
State-run HAL will hand over the first two Tejas aircraft to the IAF on July 1 which will make up the 'Flying Daggers' 45, the name of the first squadron of the LCA which will be based in Bengaluru for the first two years before being moved to Sulur in Tamil Nadu.
Overall, the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has focused on building ground-based air defense networks and network-centric operations rather than trying to match the Indian Air Force (IAF) in terms of straight fighter numbers along the border. All air assets fall under the Western Theater Command of the PLA, the largest geographic region of China's five military theater commands.
With the Rafale contract in limbo, the upgrade of IAF's Mirage 2000 and Jaguar fighters has become vitally important.
The defence ministry remains uncertain about spending billions of dollars on a carrier.
The navy wants to spend Rs 40,000 crore on INS Vishal, a choice the army and air force oppose. This is as much about turf as about funding. explains Ajai Shukla.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has voiced his concern at Dassault's reported reluctance to meet the terms of the IAF tender, which required the French company to guarantee the 108 fighters that HAL would build in India, after the first 18 were supplied fully-built in France.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances