Codenamed Red Flag Alaska 16-1, the exercises are being conducted in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, the largest instrumented air, ground and electronic combat training range in the world at more than 65,000 square miles.
The Indian Air Force has 31 fighter squadrons as against authorised strength of 42 squadrons.
as journalists active in Pakistani media have been quick to point out, with Ghafoor at the helm in Balochistan, no one will take seriously any claims by the civilian leadership to use the velvet glove to work for peace there, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.He did not hesitate to pejorate developments in India at the slightest opportunity, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
The fleet landed at Al Dhafra airbase on Monday in the United Arab Emirates after flying for over seven hours from the Merignac airbase. It was the only stopover by the jets while flying from France to India.
'It seems unlikely that a recruit will make a useful contribution as member of a combat unit.'
The cost of acquiring the advanced light helicopters from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has been estimated at Rs 3,850 crore while a batch of rocket ammunition will cost Rs 4,962 crore, the defence ministry said.
As per earlier plans, Balakot operations in-charge and current Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa was to travel to receive the plane on September 19-20 from France.
The plane went up in flames as it crashed with an explosion and thick smoke billowed from the spot, leaving passersby and residents living around the airport in a shock.
How should one billion Indians, for whom deprivation has become an inescapable way of life, join us in celebrating 75 years of Independence? And where do we go from here? asks Kalyan Singhal.
Did Vinod Sehgal die in Tsangdgar or was he taken PoW to Tibet or China? Why has the IAF kept so quiet for all these years, asks Claude Arpi.
Here are some of the pictures our readers shared with us.
The IAF has been maintaining that the Rafale jets would significantly enhance its combat capability.
'The simultaneous fire from so many guns rained down on the enemy and pulverised them, a sight I can never forget till my last breath.'
The armed forces personnel whose bodies were identified in the last few hours are Junior Warrant Officer (JWO) Pradeep, Wing Commander P S Chauhan, JWO Rana Pratap Das, Lance Naik B Sai Teja and Lance Naik Vivek Kumar.
For all those auto enthusiasts who thought Mahindra have only been manufacturing Jeeps and trucks in the '90s, Timeless Mahindra offers plenty of interesting surprises, discovers Rajesh Kareka/Rediff.com.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 11 others were killed when an Indian Air Force helicopter carrying them crashed on Wednesday near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu in apparently foggy conditions, killing 13 people on board, the IAF and other officials said.
Territorial Army Honorary Lieutenant Colonel Mahendra Singh Dhoni couldn't hide his excitement after five Rafale fighter jets were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force.
Sources said a high-level team of the Indian Air Force is already in Paris to coordinate with the French officials on the handing over ceremony.
From Typhoons soaring over the snowy mountains of the Falkland Islands to Red Arrows flying over Buckingham Palace, the images submitted in the Royal Air Force Photographic Competition captures the heroics and skills of Britain's frontline fighters. Over 1,000 photos and 25 videos were submitted by military and civilian photographers alike across 13 categories before being whittled down by a panel of judges. Here are some of the favourites.
The weather and other conditions are at the moment looking good and it is expected to reach the Ambala air base on time.
Naik said the prompt and effective deployment of the Navy in the time of crisis has underscored India's vision of being the "preferred security partner and first responder in our region".
'I did not find anything atrociously out of place about the depiction of the IAF's image,' says Group Captain Murli Menon (retd).
'All enemy positions lay exposed, providing immense information to the Indian Army and IAF to conduct successful flushing out operations.'
The IAF has just 33 squadrons, 9 short of the 42 squadrons needed to tackle China and Pakistan together, says Ajai Shukla.
India's ODI cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Congratulated the induction of first squadron of the indigenously made Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas into the Indian Air Force, on Friday.
Avani Chaturvedi flew a MiG-21 bison in her first training solo sortie, in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
The Chinese fighter aircraft activities took place from its bases including the Hotan, Gar Gunsa and Kashgar airfields which have been upgraded recently to enable operations by all types of fighters along with concrete structures to hide away the presence of the number of fighters present at its different airbases, the sources said.
'There is no point in just saying, 'hum wapas bhej denge (we will send Kashmiri Pandits back)'.'
Cautioning against various threats facing the subcontinent, President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said it was imperative for India to have an effective deterrence and strong defence to promote development and it must be prepared to use its "might" if the need arises.
The IAF is down to 34 squadrons. This will dip to 30 squadrons by the end of this decade, as nine squadrons of MiG-21 and MiG-27s retire.
All of India welcomes the Light Combat Helicopter into the Armed Forces arsenal and wishes it a safe tenure and happy shooting. May it rule the skies and ensure that the enemies are given a fitting reply when the need arises.
A third batch of three more Rafale fighter jets on Wednesday landed in India from France after a non-stop flight, in a further boost to the strike capability of the Indian Air Force.
Nobody bothered to articulate the upsides; instead, the four-year tour of duty and denial of life-long pensions got played up.
Job-seekers for government and related opportunities found that their future was at risk, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
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.
On Sunday morning Eastern US time, four astronauts will zoom into space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Commanding the spaceflight is Raja Chari, a United States Air Force colonel.
Britain on Thursday warned that there was a 'very credible' report of an 'imminent' terrorist attack by the Islamic State terrorists targeting those gathering at Kabul airport in an attempt to flee war-torn Afghanistan.
Singh said in a statement in the Lok Sabha that all efforts were being made to save IAF Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, who was on life support at the military hospital in Wellington.
Sukhoi Su-30MKI is a twin-jet multi-role air superiority aircraft developed by Russia's Sukhoi and built under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
'If we had sent a few airplanes (into Tibet), we could have wiped the Chinese out.' 'And everything could have been different in the 1962 War.' 'They did not believe me there was no Chinese air force.' 'Can you imagine what would have happened if we had used the IAF at that time?' 'The Chinese would have never dared do anything down the line.'
In a heart-warming gesture, the Indian Air Force made an 11-year-old boy suffering from Thalassemia the "youngest honorary pilot" for its Sulur-based squadron in Coimbatore, fulfilling his wish.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances