'Their air force is no match to ours!'
Built by HAL with Russian technology, the frontline twin-seater Sukhoi 30MKI was rolled at the Ozar airbase in Nashik.
SU-30 MKI is a twin-engine, twin-seater aircraft, which can simultaneously be operated as interceptor, bomber and trainer, sources said.
Russia has blamed "human factor" for the crash of a Sukhoi 30 MKI fighter aircraft in October last year that led to the grounding of the entire fleet of India's frontline fighter plane for a month, a charge denied by the Indian Air Force.
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.
Over a dozen IAF planes, including Mirage-2000 fighters and Sukhoi 30s, besides 35,000 kg C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, took part in the exercise.
A formation of three IAF Mi-8 helicopters in the national tricolour and ensigns of the IAF and the aero show marked the start of the five-day event.
Flight Lieutenant Srikant Sharma said that getting into the armed forces was a dream come true and this opportunity is an "icing on the cake".
The exercise, codenamed Vayu Shakti, will see all the fighter aircraft in the inventory of the IAF, including the just inducted Su-30MKI
The defence minister undertook a fighter sortie in a SU-30 MKI from the Lohegaon Air Force Station near Pune.
We bring to you some of the best pictures from across the nation in the last one week.
'The two countries are committed to maintaining and consolidating bilateral strategic partnership,' he said.
While its operating radius remains secret, a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates it can easily strike targets 1,000 kilometres away and return to base.
In the early hours of Tuesday, 12 Indian Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter jets entered Pakistani airspace and dropped 1,000-kg laser-guided bombs on Jaish-e-Mohammed terror launch pads across the Line of Control.
Two operational missile groups of the Indian Army -- one with the 150-250 km short-range Prithvi missiles and the other in charge of the longer-version 2,500 km Agni missiles, would form the nucleus of the new Strategic Forces Command.
The defence minister will spend about 30 to 45 minutes on board the IAF's frontline SU-30MKI.
India has grounded its entire Sukhoi-30 fleet and each aircraft is undergoing a thorough technical check following a recent crash near Pune.
Armed with rockets and missiles, these helicopters can rain fire on the enemy in rarefied altitudes.
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.
The tri-services chiefs while addressing the media also said that the forces were in a state of heightened readiness to deal with any eventuality.
Indo-Russian joint venture firm BrahMos Aerospace on Monday said it is developing a smaller version of the 290-km supersonic cruise missile for enabling its deployment on submarines and smaller fighter aircraft such as MiG 29K.
India on Monday successfully test-fired the 290 km-range BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile from the country's largest indigenous warship INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka.
'While fighter pilots must not be sent into combat in inferior aircraft, an obsessive quest for outright combat superiority will leave an air force short of numbers,' says Ajai Shukla.
This is perhaps the most authoritative portrayal so far of Indian air power as a threat to China.
The fighter plane has been untraceable since Tuesday.
Here's a recap of the events from the past 48 hours.
The Indian Air Force put its might on display at the full dress rehearsal on Tuesday, ahead of the 83rd Air Force Day on October 8, at the Hindon air base in Ghaziabad.
'What the price will reveal, since the India specific capabilities haven't changed since 2013, is how much the Modi government padded up the cost,' points out Mohan Guruswamy.
An IAF microlite aircraft with two persons on board made an emergency precautionary landing on Sunday in a park near a metro station in east Delhi after the pilot suspected a problem in the plane.
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.
There is considerable discomfort within the defence ministry about the Rafale deal.
Boeing is likely to vie for the deal to supply 110 fighter jets to the IAF in one of the biggest such procurement in recent years globally which could be worth over USD 15 billion.
Here are highlights of the 68th Republic Day parade.
The strategic illiteracy on display in the arguments put forth on the Rafale deal before the Supreme Court is breathtaking, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
With no payments coming in, HAL for the first time ever taken a bank loan of Rs 7.81 billion.
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