The Indian Defence Ministry has approved the procurement of 114 Rafale fighter jets from France, a significant step towards bolstering the Indian Air Force's combat capabilities. The decision comes ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host Russian President Vladimir Putin for a private dinner and summit, focusing on defence, trade, and geopolitical issues, including the Ukraine conflict and the impact of US sanctions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in New Delhi for a two-day visit focused on strengthening ties with India, including defense cooperation and trade, amidst a changing geopolitical landscape.
'The heat shield technology for re-entry vehicles was first mastered in DRDO for the Agni missile.' 'This is why the Americans were so opposed to Agni in the 1980s, unlike other missiles -- it was a re-entry vehicle.'
However, it said that the Delhi airport protocol required the aircraft to be inspected elsewhere before being cleared to land.
Eurofighter boss Bernhard Gerwert will fly into Delhi to offer a new sweetener to the ministry of defence.
Airbus' $99 million payout puts a new light on Eurofighter's 'unsolicited bid' to the Modi government, reducing the cost of the Typhoon fighter by 20 per cent, making it in retrospect significantly cheaper than the Rafale.
The IAF has already tested four fighters in this six-aircraft, $11-billion contest to select a Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA): the American F/A-18 Super Hornet and the F-16IN Super Viper; the French Rafale; and the Russian MiG-35. On the heels of the Eurofighter will come the last contender, Sweden's Gripen NG.
It asserted that the jets are 'good' both in terms of quality and price.
The German won the opening sprint over 600 metres but lost in the second race over 1,200 metres and the 900-metre decider against a Eurofighter jet.
The J-20 fighter prototype, a 5th generation combat aircraft built by China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry, made its first flight on January 11, 2011. This necessitates a re-evaluation of the IAF's procurement of 4th generation medium fighters, which is close to being finalised. Ajai Shukla reports
HAL has integrated the ASRAAM (advanced short range air-to-air missile) for the Tejas Mark 1A. The Tejas Mark 1A will carry twin ASRAAM missiles with a range of 60 to 70 kilometres.
Saab believes co-developing Tejas Mark II would end need for Rafale. Ajai Shukla reports
Overcoming tough competition from Eurofighter Typhoon, French aviation company Dassault's Rafale fighter jet has won Indian Air Force's mammoth deal for 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft worth Rs 52,000 crore.
Which of the two aircraft will India chose? Let's take a closer look at the two aircraft.
The latest avatar of the F-15 is designed to deal with the world's most potent air threats that are emerging from China.
The defence ministry stressed that the purchase of 36 Rafales was 'strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects.' However, the DPP-mandated process had not been gone through when Modi announced the agreement on April 10, 2015,' observes Ajai Shukla.
Tirumurti said India 'has been in touch with all concerned parties. It is our considered view that the issue can only be resolved through diplomatic dialogue.'
Why did Modi bypass the Cabinet before he committed India to the Rafale deal?
The government will zero in by the end of current fiscal a fighter jet it wants to build under 'Make in India' initiative, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said.
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".
Will Aero India 2013, the aeronautical jamboree that kicks off in Bangalore on Wednesday, be relatively subdued?
United States aerospace major Boeing on Thursday said it received approval from the country's government to offer its F-15EX multi-role combat jet to the Indian Air Force.
Defence Minister A K Antony is not part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's delegation that will hold talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron during which defence deals are expected to come up for discussion.
British Prime Minister David Cameron will attempt to 'steal' a six billion pound Indian defence contract from under the nose of French President Francois Hollande when he visits New Delhi this week, according to a media report.
Admiral describes it as 'a path-breaking change'; defence ministry official disagrees.
For years, India's proposed purchase of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft has been valued at Rs 42,000 crore. Now that valuation is set to rise dramatically
Randeep Surjewala also accused the government of "doublespeak" and "sacrificing" national interests.
"We are calculating very hard. There is a lot of work going on. I expect (in) another four weeks, we should be able to wrap it up", Browne told media persons amid intense flurry among the two remaining contenders Eurofighter and Dassault's Rafale.
Plummeting European currencies, battered by the euro zone financial crisis, are providing European aerospace corporations an opportunity to undercut their American rivals, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, in the contest to sell India 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for a price that has been estimated at $11 billion, or about Rs 44,000 crore.
Indian Air Force's frontline Su-30 MKI fighter jets and Eurofighter Typhoons of the Royal Air Force on Wednesday began 17 days of war games codenamed Ex-Indradhanush at the Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal.
Top HAL sources say the AMCA, which is being developed as the IAF's next-generation stealth fighter, is slated to be assembled at HAL Nashik.
India's desire to upgrade its Air Force will take a step forward in the next couple of months when trials for 126 medium-range, multi-role combat aircraft begin.
India's desire to upgrade its Air Force will take a step forward in the next couple of months when trials for 126 medium-range, multi-role combat aircraft begin.
"The PM defended his personal RAFALE bypass deal on 2 counts: 1. Better Price 2. Faster Delivery. Both have been demolished by the revelations in the Hindu today," he tweeted.
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 Sukhois took on Royal Air Force Torandoes and Typhoons in intricate simulated beyond visual range combat over the skies here to ring down the curtains on the second bilateral Indo-UK air exercise.
'Anyone who should be worried about or critical about this new capability of the Indian Air Force, it should be those who want to threaten our territorial integrity'
'We were against politicisation of the defence acquisition process. It was a question of capability of the air force'
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.
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