Air Chief Marshal Singh took over from incumbent V.R. Chaudhari Monday afternoon. His top priority will be strengthening the fighting capability of the IAF, it is learnt.
India is in talks with Denmark over the engine charge amplifiers, while HAL has contracted a local firm to indigenise them, it is learnt. HAL was supposed to start the delivery in March.
The first Tejas will be delivered with Category B engines, reserve engines which may have been used before or came in and remained unused as part of earlier deal with GE for Tejas series.
HAL has informed IAF that the first aircraft will only be delivered by November. A total of 16 Tejas Mk 1A were to be delivered by the state-run company but none have come in so far.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the second production line for Tejas Tuesday. His ministry is set to sign a contract worth Rs 48,000 crore with HAL.
Although several major air forces like France, Germany and the US are still inducting or ordering fourth-generation fighters, their capabilities and threats are distinct from India’s.
It was in 1983 when India rolled out the project to build a new light combat aircraft as a replacement for Russian MiG 21s, which continue to fly despite being obsolete.
In episode 661 of #CutTheClutter, Shekhar Gupta looked at India's recent Rs 48,000-crore Tejas deal and also delved into the IAF's misadventures with indigenous fighter aircraft.
In Episode 1544 of CutTheClutter, Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta looks at some top economists pointing to the pitfalls of ‘currency nationalism’ with data from 1991 to 2004.
Among 19 Indian firms sanctioned by US Treasury Dept was Lokesh Machines Ltd accused of coordinating with 'Russian defence procurement agent to import Italy-origin CNC machines'.
While we talk much about our military, we don’t put our national wallet where our mouth is. Nobody is saying we should double our defence spending, but current declining trend must be reversed.
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