New Delhi:
Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal AP Singh has expressed concern over the shortage of fighter jets in the country. The number is less. He told that the supply of Tejas Fighter Aircraft is also getting delayed. Today we are in 2024, but the Air Force does not even have the first 40 Tejas jets. To deal with such a situation, the Air Chief Marshal has advocated the government to increase private partnership in defense products and allot more funds for research and development.
Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said these things in the 21st Subroto Mukherjee Seminar ‘Atmanirbharta in Aerospace: Way Ahead’ held in Delhi on Tuesday. He said that if research and development is not completed on time, it loses its relevance. Air Chief Marshal said, “Time is very important. We need to give more leeway to researchers. Of course there will be failures, but we should not be afraid of failures. Because if R&D is not done on time, then such technology has no meaning. .”
The Air Force Chief said, “We should learn from our failures. Learning from the failures, we should identify our weaknesses. We should work on those weaknesses, improve them and move forward.”
Explainer: How is the new variant of Tejas fighter jet different from the earlier one?
Need to increase R&D funds
Air Force Chief AP Singh has demanded to increase the funds for research and development during this period. He says that R&D funds are still very less. Currently only 5% of the defense budget is spent on R&D. It should be reduced to 15%. AP Singh said, “We have to increase the R&D fund and also ensure that private partnerships are made available.”
Neighboring countries are rapidly increasing their army
Air Force Chief AP Singh said, “China is preparing a sixth generation stealth fighter jet. A few days ago, its photo went viral on social media. We are worried about our northern and western neighbours. Therefore, we have to think about other resources.” Needed.”
2025 – year of reforms
Let us tell you that the Defense Ministry has declared 2025 as the ‘Year of Reforms’. “This has been done with the objective of further strengthening the jointness and integration initiatives and facilitating the establishment of integrated theater commands. Establishing India as a reliable exporter of defense products, enhancing knowledge sharing,” says the Air Chief Marshal. And this is a commendable step to promote partnership between Indian industries and foreign original equipment manufacturers for resource integration.”
Tejas shines in wave power in front of fighter planes like Rafale, Typhoon
There are currently 31 fighter squadrons active in the Air Force.
There are currently only 31 active fighter squadrons in the Indian Air Force against the authorized strength of 42 fighter squadrons. A committee of Parliament has recommended to the Defense Ministry to increase the production of Tejas and accelerate the purchase of contracted fighter planes. This issue has been taken into consideration in the report presented in Parliament on 17 December 2024 by the Standing Committee on Defense Ministry headed by BJP MP Radha Mohan Singh.
Air Force gets 2 squadrons of Tejas MK 1
According to the report, the committee has also been told that the Air Force has received 2 squadrons of Tejas MK 1, their use has started. It had participated in the recently concluded international exercise ‘Tarang Shakti’.
The committee also noted that the Tejas MK-1A program has been delayed due to design and development issues. The Defense Ministry also told the committee that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has been asked to increase the production of Tejas. Let us tell you that Tejas is India’s latest and all-weather fighter jet, which is being prepared for the Air Force.
According to the report, the Air Force has also made progress in the procurement of additional 97 light combat (LCA-MKI-IA) planes, for which Acceptance of Need (AON) has been approved. Request for Proposal (RFP) has been issued.
Air Force’s exercise ‘Tarang Shakti’ will show the power of ‘self-reliant India’
