French website Mediapart has revealed an agreement was concluded between Dassault and the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group the day before an Indian defence ministry review overturned the selection of the Rafale as the winning bid in the IAF contest for 126 MMRCA fighter aircraft.
Even after two decades since the acquisition case, the Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) search has seen a system absent from trials and failing trials, being passed as technically compliant and ending up as, apparently, the cheapest. Also problematic is the difficulty its purchase could pose by provoking U.S. sanctions under their CAATSA.
Taken literally, the defence minister’s words could have signified a change in India’s nuclear deterrence policy, which is structured around No First Use followed by ‘massive retaliation’.
DRDO Chairman S. Christopher told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence about a requirement of INR 800 crore to develop the LCA Mk2, adding the IAF had committed to 201 fighters.
The defence ministry has provided a singular and unconvincing defence of why it did not ask for, or entertain, a competing commercial offer for the Eurofighter Typhoon pitched by Airbus.
Former naval aviator Captain K.P. Sanjeev Kumar examines the San Juan tragedy, pointing out that after half a century of operating submarines, India still does not have organic submarine rescue capability and asks why navies such as ours invest in submarines without closing the loop on submarine rescue.
StratPost examines the factors that could influence the choice of a Make in India fighter aircraft in the absence of a tender competition.
Boeing has briefed New Delhi on the aircraft, shortly after the Indian Air Force canceled its tanker tender for which the Airbus A330 MRTT had been selected.
Boeing’s Shelly Lavender said they will be meeting the defense ministry to ‘go through the details’ of their offer for an Indian F/A-18 assembly line.
The Indian Navy is set to take a decision on the future of the naval LCA and will be considering alternatives for fighters to operate from what will be a CATOBAR Indigenous Aircraft Carrier-2 (IAC-2).
Here’s why the first India-Singapore defense industry joint working group held last May didn’t include Singapore’s biggest defense company.
The presence of the Indian defense minister at the Shangri La Dialogue made an impression, at a time when the South China Sea was on everyone’s minds.
Boeing, Saab and Lockheed Martin are offering to build fighters in India and each is bringing something different to the table.
When Parliament was told that there is no ‘bhaiya‘ system in the army, DefExpo is indeed happening in Goa and there’s no plan to put barcodes on uniforms.
Our columnist Mark narrates what transpired at Make In India Week and explains why Make In India cannot work in the defence sector under the existing dispensation.
