The Pentagon has said that it is not aware of any potential sale of F-22 fighter jets to India.
The presence of the private sector at a prestigious military training institution is an important acknowledgement of its growing capabilities in designing and manufacturing cutting edge aerospace and defence equipment, reports Ajai Shukla.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday faced an embarrassing situation in the Rajya Sabha when he laid a corrected version of a statement made in the House last week on the purchase of MiG fighter aircraft, triggering protests from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
'He was a practical person who ensured that he thought about the common man, animals, the fact that they have a life and they have to be respected.'
Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav had thrown barbs at the prime minister over his having no family.
The newly-inducted aircraft will carry out the 'Vertical Charlie' formation.
The ill-fated aircraft was one of the older versions, which are progressively being phased out.
SAAW, an indigenously designed and developed 120 kg class smart weapon, has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation.
'We were firing at Patton tanks that were moving towards India.' 'Fighter aircraft are the biggest menace for tanks because they come at great speed, attack from a height and their rockets are lethal.' 'The Hunter travels at 400, 420 knots. One knot is 1.6 times a km, so it was at a speed of 700, 800 km/hr.' 'You come at great speed and when you see the tanks, you pull up because attacks are always done in a dive.' 'You go up to 3,000 to 4,000 feet and then dive on to the target and let off your rockets...'
Besides the flight demonstration of one of the two prototypes of PAK-FA T-50 (FGFA) fighter, the Indian Air Chief also watched the flight of modernised MiG-29UPG of the Indian Air Force at the airfield of M M Gromov Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky town.
Singh received the aircraft at the Rafale fighter jet handing-over ceremony at Merignac in the presence of French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly. Members of the top military brass of France as well as senior officials of Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, were also present at the ceremony.
A MiG-29 fighter aircraft crashed near Jamnagar on Monday during a training sortie but the pilot ejected safely.
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.
In rebranding the F-16 into the F-21, Lockheed Martin appears to have accepted what many have warned it for years: That the IAF would never buy a fighter whose very name is associated across India with the Pakistan Air Force which has operated the F-16 since the 1980s.
The cooperation of the Indian government, Indian Air Force and the state government with US defence teams searching for remains of US fighter plane pilots missing-in-action during World War II in Arunchal Pradesh was appreciated on Thursday by US Consul General Beth A Payne.
Should women be flying fighter planes? Do you think ACM Raha's comments are sexist?
It is the country's second aircraft carrier, after the Liaoning, and the first to be made domestically.
With a Sukhoi fighter aircraft, a special air craft from Indian Space Research Organization and another low flying aircraft of the state government completing a comprehensive aerial survey of Nallamalla forest area to find missing Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Rajashekhara Reddy's helicopter on Wednesday night and gathering crucial data including the photographs, focus of the search operation on Thursday will move to the ground.
"The target is 2022. It is absolutely on target. I mentioned earlier. Except for one or two aircraft, minor delays because of COVID related issues, but, in fact, some deliveries have been ahead of time. So, broadly, we are absolutely on target on the Rafale induction plan," he said.
After an eight-day operation that saw 149 aerial sorties, the air force has located the wreckage of the MiG-29 fighter aircraft which had crashed on snow-clad mountains in Himachal Pradesh on October 19 but the fate of the pilot is not known.
A MiG-21 combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Friday crashed near Uttarlai airport in Rajasthan's Barmer district, but the pilot managed to eject safely. The plane was on a routine sortie and the incident occurred at around 11.30 am, when the pilot was preparing for landing. The pilot, Flying Officer Amit, ejected safely, a defence ministry spokesperson said.A court of inquiry has been ordered, he said.
India's frontline combat aircraft Sukhoi-30 fleet was on Friday cleared for flying after being grounded for nearly a month following a crash near Pune.
The IAF is taking these emergency measures in the wake of reports that its fighting squadron strength has plunged to a low of 39 squadrons and reports that Pakistan is on the threshold of buying more F-16 fighters from United States.
India on Thursday approved proposals for purchasing 26 Naval variant of Rafale jets from France and procuring three French-designed Scorpene class submarines, a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wide-ranging talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
India and France on Thursday concluded negotiations on the Short Range Surface to Air Missile nearly worth of $6 billion during the talks between French President Francois Hollande and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who also said talks on $10-billion deal for Rafale fighter aircraft are "progressing well".
In yet another mishap, a MiG-21 jet fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed in the marshlands in Kutch near the Indo-Pak border on Friday. But the pilot bailed out safely.
'Due to change in the weather, the challenges are increasing.' 'The morale of the air fighters is high and the availability of advanced equipment empowers them to face any enemy.'
The triennial exercise will take place for two hours and fifteen minutes during the day, dusk and night, he said.
This was the first time General Rawat flew in the home-made fighter jet, known for its agility, being the smallest and lightest multirole supersonic fighter jet in its class.
Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of the Indian Air Force who shot down a Pakistan air force F-16 during a dogfight on February 27 earlier this year, flew a MiG-21 Bison aircraft during the Air Force Day parade at Hindon Air Base. Three Mirage 2000 aircraft and two Su-30MKI fighter aircraft also flew in the 'Avenger formation'. The planes are being flown by pilots who took part in Balakot airstrike. Here are highlights from the parade.
The Indian Air Force has alleged that the Russians reluctant to share critical design information, besides technical and cost issues. Ajai Shukla reports
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.
Pakistan has received the first three upgraded F-16 fighter aircrafts with an official saying the aircraft could be used to deal with "all internal and external threats". An official spokesman claimed Pakistan would be the only country besides Israel to get the latest version of the F-16, reflecting the strategic relations between Islamabad and Washington.
We are going to deliver 36 aircraft. If the government of India wants more aircraft, we will be pleased to deliver, he said.
As remarkable as DRDO's contribution in containing and treating COVID-19 has been, its success over the last 15 months has been in its primary role of developing conventional defence equipment and technologies.
BJP leaders also took a dig at the former Congress president after the apex court asked him to be careful in future while closing a plea for contempt case against him for wrongly attributing certain comments on the Rafale deal to it.
Wearing a G suit, the minister buckled himself in the seat behind the pilot in the aircraft.
At least 52 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres and five soldiers were killed as heavy fighting raged today for control of the key Northern Sri Lankan city of Killinochchi, with government forces pressing fighter aircraft to pound Tiger bunkers on the outskirts
"We have developed and successfully tested our guided weapon testing devices, which help improve the accuracy rate of guided weapons of IAF like Infra-Red Guided Missiles (IRGM) and Laser Guided Bombs (LGBs)," Director of DRDO's Laser Science and Technology Center (LASTEC), A K Maini told PTI in New Delhi.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances