New Delhi:
India’s Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh has raised concerns over delays in major defence procurement projects. Speaking at an official event, the Air Chief said, “Many times, we know while signing contracts that those systems will never come. Timelines are a big issue. Not a single project I can think of is completed on time. Why should we promise something that cannot be achieved?”
The Air Chief pointed to multiple cases of delayed defence systems, particularly those involving indigenous projects. Citing the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, the Air Chief said deliveries of the Tejas Mk1A fighter jet – covered under a Rs 48,000 crore contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signed in February 2021 – remain stalled, with none of the 83 ordered aircraft delivered so far. Delivery was initially scheduled to begin in March 2024.
According to the IAF chief, delays have affected several key projects, including the Tejas Mk1A fighter aircraft, which remains undelivered despite a high-value contract signed over three years ago. “Deliveries of Tejas Mk1 are delayed. The prototype of Tejas Mk2 is yet to roll out. There is no prototype yet of the stealth AMCA fighter,” Air Chief Marshal Singh said, addressing the CII Annual Business Summit, where Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was also present.
The remarks come as the IAF pushes for faster indigenisation and domestic capability under the government’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative. “We cannot just talk about producing in India, we need to talk about designing. We need to have trust between the forces and industry. We need to be very open. Once we have committed to something, we should deliver. Air Force is trying to do its best to make in India,” he added.
“We have to be now-ready to be future-ready. In 10 years, we will have more output from industry, but what we need today, we need today. We need to quickly get our act together,” he said. “Wars are won by empowering our forces.”
Operation Sindoor Praise
The Air Chief’s comments come days after India’s Operation Sindoor, launched on May 7 in retaliation for the deadly terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 that killed 26 people. Indian intelligence services have linked the attack to the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, and to elements within Pakistan’s military establishment. India’s military action resulted in the deaths of over 100 terrorists.
Citing the operation, the Air Chief talked about “new technologies” and what needs to be done to keep India at its optimal operational readiness.
“Operation Sindoor, as it was told by the Chief of Naval Staff, the character of war is changing. Every day, we are finding new technologies coming in. Operation Sindoor has given us a clear idea of where we are headed and what we need in future. So a lot of work needs to be done in realigning our own thought processes also, which is already going on,” he said.
“In future, we will be able to deliver the goods as a nation, and we will be able to achieve our objectives. AMCA- advanced medium combat aircraft has been cleared for even participation by private industry, which is a very big step, and that is the kind of confidence that the nation has in private industry today, and I’m sure this is going to pave the way to bigger things coming in the future,” he added.
Not The First Warning
The Air Chief’s remarks are not his first public critique of India’s defence production environment. In October last year, shortly after taking over as the Air Chief, he said that India had once been ahead of China in military technology but had since fallen behind. “As far as production rates are concerned, we are way behind. We need to catch up,” he said.
In February this year, an accidental recording of the Air Chief criticising the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) caused a controversy. He was heard on the mic saying that he was “just not confident” of HAL.
“I can tell you what our requirements and worries are,” he was heard saying while seated inside a HJT-36 Yashas cockpit. “I was promised that when I come here in February, 11 Tejas Mk1As would be ready. And not a single one is ready. We all have worked there (in HAL). But I find that HAL is just not in mission mode.”
