For decades, India’s defence industry has churned out ‘indigenous’ hardware. Much of it is mere assembly of imported kits or licensed production, masking a deep import dependence.
With sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) seen as key to 2050 net-zero target, India drew much attention at Airbus Summit 2025, with its potential to produce 8-10 mn tonnes of SAF annually.
The PLA Air Force unveiled the J-35A at Zhuhai Airshow. Designed for medium-range operations, the stealth aircraft complements the J-20, already renowned for long-range capabilities.
The testing facilities were proposed to be set up under the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS), which was launched by the government in May 2020.
The rocket is comparable to Space X’s Falcon 9 and has been independently developed by Space Pioneer, which has emerged as China’s leading commercial player in the space industry.
In 2022, athletes claimed they were asked to wind up training early at Thyagraj Stadium so that the IAS couple could walk their dog. Then came the memes and public outrage.
Instead of buying more Mirages outright in early 2000s, the requirement was tweaked in favour of a medium-weight, multi-role fighter with Mirage-like performance.
Pakistan not only has zero chance of catching up with India in most areas, but will inevitably see the gap rising. Its leaders will offer its people the same snake oil in different bottles.
Adm Prakash has rightly pointed out the lacunae in our defence preparedness. We are reasonably up to date in air defence and guided missile systems. But we are way behind in advanced fighter aircraft systems. Even after our AMCA becomes operational by 2035 , we will still be 10 to 15 years behind others like China who are already testing 6th gen fighters.
Catching up will need an extreme Innovation group who will convert the existing AMCA and tejas platforms into 6th gen ones and start trials in the next 2 to 3 years.
Incisive and apt
Adm Prakash has rightly pointed out the lacunae in our defence preparedness. We are reasonably up to date in air defence and guided missile systems. But we are way behind in advanced fighter aircraft systems. Even after our AMCA becomes operational by 2035 , we will still be 10 to 15 years behind others like China who are already testing 6th gen fighters.
Catching up will need an extreme Innovation group who will convert the existing AMCA and tejas platforms into 6th gen ones and start trials in the next 2 to 3 years.