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Indian Air Force
Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit on Thursday said India's environment makes the transformation towards Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) urgent, as the country faces threats that do not respect domain boundaries. Asserting that preparedness must be multi-domain from the outset, he said that MDO is not a future option, but a present imperative. He was delivering the keynote address at the second edition of "Ran Samwaad 2026", with a theme "Multi-Domain Operations: An Imperative for Addressing Conventional and Irregular Threats." "India's environment makes this transformation urgent - not aspirational. We face threats that do not respect domain boundaries," Dixit said. Noting that along our northern borders, surveillance drones, satellite monitoring, electronic warfare, and rapid force mobilisation coexist in a state of permanent readiness, he said in the maritime domain, sea lines of communication intersect with space-based surveillance, undersea competition
The defence ministry has initiated the process for the indigenous design and development of a 1000-kg aerial bomb akin to Mk-84 for the IAF, aiming to boost India's 'Aatmanirbharta' in the sector, according to senior officials. The project is structured in two phases. The first involves design and development of six prototypes (live and inert), including associated tail units and equipment, they said. The second is the procurement phase, which will commence with the issuance of a commercial Request for Proposal (RFP) to the qualifying development agencies. The system is intended to be "compatible with both Russian and Western-origin aircraft" currently operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF), a senior official said. The Ministry of Defence has "issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) for design, development and procurement of 1,000-kg aerial bombs (akin to Mk-84) along with tail units and associated equipment under the provisions of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020", the
The defence ministry on Tuesday inked a Rs 1,950 crore contract with state-run Bharat Electronics Limited for the procurement of two mountain radars and related infrastructure for the Indian Air Force. The installation and commissioning of these radars will boost the country's air defence and strengthen national security, the ministry said, adding the procurement will also reduce the dependency on foreign equipment. "The Ministry of Defence has inked a major capital acquisition contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the procurement of two mountain radars, including associated equipment and required infrastructure for the Indian Air Force, at a cost of around Rs 1,950 crore," an official statement said. This mountain radar is indigenously designed and developed by Electronics and Radar Development Establishment of DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) and will be manufactured by BEL.
A Su-30 MKI fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Assam's Karbi Anglong district on Thursday. The IAF said the search operation for the aircraft is underway. There is no information on the pilots of the aircraft. The Su-30MKI, which was on a training mission, crashed in the area of Karbi Anglong, approximately 60 km from Jorhat, the IAF said in a brief statement. Search operations are underway, it said. Earlier, officials said the aircraft went missing shortly after taking off from the Jorhat airbase. Communication with the Russian-origin aircraft was lost at 7:42 pm, they had said. Su-30MKI is a two-seater multirole long-range fighter jet developed by Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi. It is now built under licence by HAL for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The IAF operates a fleet of over 260 Su-30MKI jets. A Sukhoi fighter plane had crashed in the Nashik district of Maharashtra in June 2024. Another Sukhoi-30 jet had crashed in January 2023, after taking off fr
The Indian Air Force demonstrated its combat prowess and firepower capabilities, and presented glimpses of missions undertaken during Operation Sindoor through simulated strikes at the Pokharan Field Firing Range under Exercise 'Vayu Shakti' in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu on Friday. The day-dusk-night demonstration, held in the Thar desert of western Rajasthan near the India-Pakistan border, is also being attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade and Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, among other dignitaries. A presentation on Operation Sindoor was made at the beginning of the exercise, followed by a detailed display of day target layouts spread across a three-kilometre area. The simulated targets included an enemy runway, a petroleum storage facility, bunkers, radar sites, tank and armoured convoys, a communication centre, a terror camp, ammunition storage, a hangar and a command-and-control centre. Fighter jets and attack ..
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made a historic landing at the first Emergency Landing Facility (ELF) of the northeast aboard the C-130J aircraft in Assam's Dibrugarh district. Modi took off from the Chabua airfield after his arrival, and landed at the ELF in Moran on a stretch of National Highway-37. The Rs 100-crore ELF, a 4.2-km reinforced stretch on the Moran Bypass, which was inaugurated by the PM, will act as a strategic and multi-functional runway for IAF fighter jets and transport aircraft, strengthening defence, logistics and disaster response, officials said. The facility is designed for both civil and military use, serving as an alternative to the Dibrugarh airport in case of emergency, they said. The PM was received at the ELF by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and other ministers of the Assam cabinet. After landing on the runway, Modi drove to the venue nearby from where he witnessed an aerial
The IAF is looking forward to inducting "a lot more" of the newer-generation aircraft into its inventory, Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, said on Wednesday. Kapoor was addressing a press conference ahead of Exercise Vayu Shakti. On Rafale, he said, "Rafale definitely was a hero, among other heroes, during Operation Sindoor. Yes, Rafale is the buzzword; it is definitely a buzzword." The VCAS added, "The IAF is looking forward to induct a lot more MRFA aircraft, whether that will be Rafale or any other aircraft, is presently under consideration. And, a concrete decision on it has not yet been taken." MRFA refers to multi-role fighter aircraft. "The IAF is looking forward to induct a lot more of newer-generation aircraft in its inventory, and the sooner, the better," Kapoor said. Rafale, Su-30, MiG-29, Tejas, Jaguar, among other fighter aircraft, will be part of the upcoming Exercise Vayu Shakti, which will also highlight the "successful role" of the Indian A
Rafale, Su-30, MiG-29, Tejas, Jaguar, among other fighter aircraft, will be part of the upcoming Exercise Vayu Shakti, and will highlight the "successful role" of the Indian Air Force during Operation Sindoor, an IAF officer said on Wednesday. Exercise Vayu Shakti is scheduled to take place on February 27 at the Pokharan field firing range. Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, said "long-distance targeting" will not be showcased in this firepower demonstration at Pokharan in Rajasthan. The biennial demonstration this time "assumes (a) different connotation" as this is taking place after last year's Operation Sindoor, he said. More than 120 assets, including fighter jets, helicopters and transport aircraft, will be part of the exercise, the IAF officer quoted earlier said. The officer in a presentation made at the press conference said fighter jets, such as Rafale, Su-30, MiG-29, Tejas, Jaguar, and Mirage-2000, will be part of the exercise, besides Apache, LCH ..