Shukla is the youngest of 4 astronaut-designates training for Gaganyaan. Shukla and Nair trained at Russia’s Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre and Bengaluru’s Astronaut Training Centre.
Once acquired by IAF, the medium transport aircraft (MTA) will replace both AN-32s and IL-76s, it is learnt. The idea behind the revamp is to meet modern operational needs.
It is a brilliant, reasonably priced, and mostly homemade aircraft with a stellar safety record; only two crashes in 24 years since its first flight. But its crash is a moment of introspection.
Indian govt officials last month skipped Turkish National Day celebrations in Delhi, in a message to Ankara following its support for Islamabad, particularly during Operation Sindoor.
Between January 2022 and May 2024, at least 29,466 Indians travelled to Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar & Vietnam on tourist visas & didn’t return, ThePrint has learnt.
Unlike modern aircraft with their sophisticated systems and computer-mediated controls, the MiG-21 was pure aviation. The connection between the pilot and the machine was magical.
The menu, it is learnt, is from an IAF station that saw intense action during Op Sindoor and was curated as part of a dinner to mark Air Force Day (8 October).
The 2018 contract with Russia for 5 S-400 systems had a follow-on clause for 5 more. S-400 was described as a 'game-changer' for shooting down 5 Pakistan fighter jets during Op Sindoor.
Armenia has procured significant defence equipment from India, including artillery guns, multi-barrel rocket launchers, air defence system, sniper rifles, weapons locating radars, anti-drone weapons.
The key to fighting a war successfully, or even launching it, is a clear objective. That’s an entirely political call. It isn’t emotional or purely military.
C-2 has a turbofan engine, not a turboprop