China's massive military lead over India has never been starker. On Tuesday, amidst fanfare, Defence Minister A K Antony travelled to Bengaluru for a milestone in the development of India's 'Tejas' Light Combat Aircraft, a fourth-generation fighter that is still two years away from full service. The same day, an advanced, fifth-generation stealth fighter -- so far only speculated about, as the J-20 -- made its first flight in China.
"It is my first sortie in Tejas, it is a good aircraft for induction into IAF operations," Raha was quoted as saying by the aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
It is learnt that the Aeronautical Development Agency, which oversees the development of Tejas, has put together a flying routine that 'significantly surpasses any aerobatics display the fighter has presented earlier'.
HAL's sustained, long-term income will come from the design, development, manufacture, overhaul, and upgrade of a family of helicopters designed for deployment on India's 21,000-foot-high Himalayan frontier with Pakistan and China.
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, an accomplished fighter pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flying experience, on Monday assumed charge as new chief of the Indian Air Force, succeeding incumbent Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari.
The outgoing Tejas chief said the aircraft will join the IAF fleet by 2021-22.
With the Navy ruling out deploying indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas on its aircraft carriers, Aeronautical Development Agency on Saturday said it was restricted only to Mark I which was a technology demonstrator and pinned hopes on Mark II for use by the Navy.
The indigenously developed light combat aircraft 'Tejas' would officially replace the MiG-21 FL fighter jet, Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne said on Thursday.
Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) is one of the largest beneficiaries of the defence indigenisation programme. The aerospace Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) has just received a new tender for 97 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A, and it is already servicing an earlier order for 83 LCA aircraft. The new order is worth around Rs 65,000 crore with a 65 per cent indigenisation component, whereas the earlier order (February 21) was worth Rs 45,700 crore with 55 per cent indigenisation.
The Tejas Mark 1A outperforms the Sino-Pakistan JF-17 Thunder in avionics and weaponry, but the finance ministry's tax burden makes the Indian LCA costlier and hurts it in the export market.
An official statement said that the successful execution of arrested landing will pave the way for this indigenous platform to undertake Aircraft Carrier landing demonstration onboard the Indian Naval Aircraft Carrier, Vikramaditya.
For the first time, India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft performed stunts at the air show, amid loud cheers from the audience.
Defence Research and Development Organisation's claim about being in a position to export Light Combat Aircraft Tejas has been dismissed as premature and unrealistic by former top Indian Air Force officers who want it to focus on getting the indigenous fighter plane inducted into own air force first.
Wearing a G suit, the minister buckled himself in the seat behind the pilot in the aircraft.
Glimpses from Day 1 at Aero India 2025 at the Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru, India, February 10, 2025.
We need to equip the Indian Armed Forces, not 'commercial' as Trump wants, but 'operationally' looking at growing Chinese military capabilities, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Landing on an aircraft carrier deck is the ultimate and most daunting challenge for a fighter pilot. This takes India into a select group of nations -- the US, the UK, Russia, France, and China -- that have developed such jets.
From 2018-19 onwards, 16 'Standard of Preparation-18' Tejas fighters, which involves four major upgrades, will roll off the line each year.
The IAF has demanded five new capabilities in the Mark 1A that would give it a clear combat edge over Pakistan's entire fighter fleet, and most of China's as well.
When the technology gap between China and India will remain large, cost-effective hardware of the kind that proved their worth in Operation Sindoor should be our priority, points out R Jagannathan.
>The Indian Navy wants 'day and night capable, all weather multi-role deck based combat aircraft which can be used for air defence, air-to-surface operations, buddy refuelling, reconnaissance, electronic warfare missions' from its aircraft carriers.
Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh has been appointed as the next Chief of the Air Staff.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
Several aircraft such as Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Sukhoi, Jaguar, Rafale, IL-76, C-130J, and Hawk displayed their skillful manoeuvres, amid a thundering applause from the gathering.
The announcement by the IAF to not send its aircraft for the 'Cobra Warrior' exercise came just three days after it confirmed its participation in the drills from March 6 to 27 at Waddington in the United Kingdom.
The contracts with Israel Aerospace Industries will condemn the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft to a marginal presence in the IAF's future fleet.
United States President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to make meaningful advancements on the GE jet engine deal and civil nuclear technology during their bilateral talks, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was cited in a Reuters report.
The real value of the Tejas Mark 1 is the role it will now play in the development of India's next generation of fighter aircraft that will be more technologically advanced and lethal.
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh on Thursday flagged serious concerns over inordinate delays in various defence acquisition projects and failure to stick to delivery schedules for supply of key platforms even as he hailed Operation Sindoor as a 'national victory'.
Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, chief of the air staff, flew a sortie in an IAF Rafale fighter while FASF Chief General Stephane Mille flew in an IAF Su-30MKI fighter.
Several persons fainted and emergency workers carried them in stretches and provided care in shelters. Over 30 people were rushed to nearby government hospitals with symptoms of dehydration.
A breathtaking display cast a spell at the 12th edition of Aero India.
It involves India spending an estimated Rs 40,000 crores to Rs 50,000 crores and will take 10 to 15 years to develop.
The Southeast Asian nation has been focusing on modernising its military in the face of myriad security challenges as well as decades-long territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
'As humans, we haven't changed much'
'At Aero India 2025, be prepared to be inspired, awed, and educated,' says Air Commodore Rohith Vijayadev, Air Officer Commanding Yelahanka. 'Aero India 2025 promises to be more than just an air show; it is a celebration of innovation, collaboration, and India's growing leadership in global defence and aviation,' notes Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
'Government officials use Gmail and ordinary phones without basic security consciousness.' 'Interoperability, especially in joint exercises with countries like the US, worries me.' 'It often means we open our systems to them, but they don't reciprocate.' 'They could have kill switches in their systems and might even be able to affect ours.'
For the first time, the MiG-29K fighter aircraft undertook night landing on indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, a feat described by the Indian Navy as a 'historic milestone'.
Lavender cultivation has been amplified across Jammu and Kashmir.
The biennial tri-services exercise, Bright-Star, is taking place at Cairo (West) Air Base and it is being participated by militaries of the US, Saudi Arabia, Greece and Qatar besides of the host country and India, officials said.
