Asked whether the IAF can play a role in smashing terrorist training camps across the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, he did not rule out such a possibility.
>Putin's last-minute intervention with PM salvages $5.43 bn pact.
The successful test firing of medium range surface-to-air missiles is welcome news for the IAF.
Russia -- already India's biggest arms supplier from 2014-18, accounting for 58 per cent of India's defence imports -- eyes more, reports Ajai Shukla.
Against the backdrop of delays in several of its major projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesdau told Defence Research and Development Organisation to speed up and complete its programmes in time as the world will not wait for it.
In a mega-contract worth over $1.6 billion, state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries will provide advanced medium-range surface-to-air missile systems to the Indian Army.
The most remarkable feature of these warships is that, tonne-for-tonne, they are not only one of the world's most heavily armed but also one of the cheapest.
Modi's visit is aimed at commemorating 25 years of establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
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.
The IAF faces a 'fighter gap' of 13 squadrons. The IAF would be caught seriously short in a two-front war -- the worst-case planning contingency in which China and Pakistan attack India simultaneously, points out Ajai Shukla.
The aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Admiral Gorshkov, expected to join the Indian Navy later this year, is already late by five years and its price has risen three-fold, from $947 million (about Rs 5,735 crore) in 2004 to $2.3 billion (Rs 13,928.8 crore) today.
The defence ministry is finalising a decision to allow the FGM-148 Javelin missile, built by US companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, into a contest to supply the Indian Army with anti-tank guided missiles. This is bad news for Israelis
The navy's plan to build three Russian Talwar-class frigates has a less than wholesome odour.
'The defence minister needs to focus on human resources-related issues at the same pace in 2017 as he did on acquisitions in 2016,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
'One lesson to emerge out of the Modi-Putin summit is that India can be more self-confident that it possesses inherent strengths to leverage its interlocutors to influence Pakistani policies,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances