Who needs to down the FGFA?
There is a buzz in the air about New Delhi’s intentions of shooting down the 2007 agreement with Moscow for the joint development of fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) or at least put it on the hold to generate the funds for financing the Rafale deal with France. Under the estimated $20-30 billion mother-of-the-deals for the acquisition of 126 medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA), Dassault Aviation’s Rafale was picked as a stopgap measure to sustain the IAF’s strength in view of its depleting inventory caused by the phasing out…
WAR Cannot be Fought with Obsolete Hardware
The resignation of the Navy chief over the series of accidents culminating in the explosion in the submarine, INS Sindhuratna, should not lead to side-stepping of the real issues facing our armed forces. The latest accident underscores, among others, the Navy’s poor submarine rescue capabilities. It is the result of neglect of safety in its operations. At the root of the problem is the government’s failure to understand the needs of the forces and provide them the required support in terms of equipment and facilities for training. The…
MiG-21bis likely to serve IAF until 2019
The first supersonic fighter jet of the Indian Air Force — Russian MiG-21bis —which completed 50 years in service this April despite facing criticism following a substantial number of accidents, is likely to remain operational in its upgraded version until 2019 — two years later than they were originally scheduled to be decommissioned. The Air Force took the decision owing to the delay in the commissioning of India’s own Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and the purchase of 126 Rafale fighters from France for which the official contract …
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