Wing Commander Prithvi Singh Chauhan was the pilot of the crashed Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17V5 helicopter, carrying Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and 13 others, informed sources.
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.
The test was carried out by DRDO against a high-speed unmanned aerial target which was successfully intercepted by the missile.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Indian Air Force have jointly conducted two flight tests of an indigenously developed smart anti-airfield weapon in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
The No. 51 Squadron is to be retired by the end of September, "as per the plan", the defence sources said.
"Coronavirus infections have slowed down but it is not over yet. Big crowds come for recruitment in the Indian Army. Big (recruitment) fairs are organised for the purpose. "Therefore we have suspended (the recruitment process in Army) so that the virus does not spread. We have not stopped it," said Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt while replying to a supplementary to a starred question in Rajya Sabha.
In all likelihood, the next conventional Chinese attack on India would be preceded by a massive cyber attack designed to cripple Indian networks and interfere with our disaster-relief programmes.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre and the Indian Air Force to consider granting permanent commission (PC) to 32 retired women short service commission (SSC) officers based on their suitability for the purpose of giving them pensionary benefits.
Watch the stunning cockpit views of the jets.
Afrid Afroz, 21, who was adjudged best cadet at the NDA's 144th course, will join the Indian Air Force and hopes to be a fighter pilot.
The percentage of women in the Army and the Indian Air Force is 0.56 and 1.08 respectively.
It was Singh's second meeting with the chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force for the second straight day on the issue.
Arjun spends time with daughter ... Gul takes son to the museum...
A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident which took place late Thursday night.
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.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha that IAF Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor in the military chopper crash in Tamil Nadu, is on life support in the Military Hospital at Wellington, Tamil Nadu.
Gen Pande, who was serving as the vice chief, became the first officer from the Corps of Engineers to helm the force.
In his condolence message, Modi said he was deeply anguished by the helicopter crash in which Rawat, his wife and other personnel of the armed forces died.
Kumar also said in the last three years, the Jaish-e-Mohammed has been "wiped out" in the Kashmir Valley. Only seven to eight terrorists are active now, he said.
Shivangi Singh is part of the IAF's Golden Arrows squadron based out of Ambala in Punjab.
'With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident,' the IAF tweeted.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has to maintain operational readiness round the clock, and it should have sustained focus on capability enhancement, Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria told its commanders in Gandhinagar on Wednesday.
Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) helps you shake off the last-minute jitters as you prepare for the UPSC National Defence Academy exam.
Protecting India's sovereignty and integrity will be ensured at any cost, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari said on Thursday after taking charge as the chief of the Indian Air Force.
The Indian Embassy in Ukraine put out a series of tweets giving a sense of the challenging situation in which Singh was taken out of Kyiv.
The three services are reeling under a shortage of 1,35,784 personnel, with the Army having the maximum vacancies at 1,16,464, according to details provided by the government.
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.
While Pakistan enjoys rough parity with India in legacy weapon systems, it is beginning to enjoy superiority in drone warfare, thanks to the RPVs supplied by China, explains Ajai Shukla.
Ahead of the air show, a full dress rehearsal held at the Hindon Air Force Station in Ghaziabad.
Five Rafale fighter aircraft arrived in India from France on July 29 and have started extensive training within 24 hours of touching down in the country. The French-origin fighter aircraft are part of the 17 Golden Arrows squadron of the Indian Air Force.
The NCW has raised strong objections to a woman Air Force officer allegedly being subjected to the "banned and intrusive two-finger test" by Indian Air Force doctors, and asked the air chief marshal to take necessary steps.
The recruitment process can be changed by the State midway if it is in public interest, a bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said
The ceremony traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands.
Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retired) will assume charge as India's new Chief of Defence Staff on Friday, an appointment that is expected to bring the focus back on the implementation of the ambitious theaterisation drive to bring synergy among the three services.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday that India cannot remain dependent on other countries for its defence and that the indigenously developed Tejas was better than its foreign equivalents on several parameters and also comparatively cheaper.
Rajnath appreciated the proactive response by the IAF in bolstering its operational capabilities over the past few months.
The person had on Facebook posted derogatory comments about Rawat and the crash and also linked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to it, which went viral, police said.
'Imagine hanging from a thin steel cable under a helicopter with certain death staring at you below, being pulled up slowly in the din and downwash of the helicopter.' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe, a helicopter pilot himself, reports on how the air force rescued those trapped in the Deoghar cable cars disaster last fortnight.
The Tejas is a fourth generation combat aircraft developed by Aeronautical Development Agency and the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. It is equipped with fly-by-wire flight control system, integrated digital avionics and multimode radar.
Videos from the scene, shot by locals in Morena, showed debris of the aircraft on the ground.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances