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Indian Air Force chief Amar Preet Singh on Thursday raised concerns about the delays in several defence acquisition projects and the failure to adhere to delivery schedules for the supply of military platforms, PTI reported.
Addressing a Confederation of Indian Industry event, the air chief marshal said that adherence to timelines were a big problem.
“Not a single project that I can think of has been completed on time,” Singh said, adding that the armed forces had refrained from calling a “black sheep as black sheep”.
It was unclear which projects the air force chief was referring to.
Noting that this was a matter that had to be looked into, Singh said: “Why should we promise something which cannot be achieved?”
He added: “While signing the contract itself, sometimes, we are sure that it is not going to come up. But we just sign the contract and see what can be done after that… obviously then the process gets vitiated.”
Singh also said that no military operations could be conducted without air power, adding that Operation Sindoor was testimony to that, The Indian Express reported.
“Our focus, as far as air power is concerned, we need to make sure that we have the capability and the capacity,” the air chief marshal said. “We cannot just talk about producing in India, we need to start designing and developing in India.”
The current geopolitical situation “made us realise that atmanirbharta [self-reliance] is the only solution”, the air chief marshal said, adding that Operation Sindoor had given the armed forces a clear idea of where “we are headed and what we need in the future”.
Singh also noted the need to have trust and open communication between the armed forces and the industry, The Indian Express reported. He added that the air force was putting in the maximum possible effort towards the Make in India programme.
“We have to now be ready to be future-ready,” Singh said. “That is the concern.”
While there could be more output from the Indian industry and the Defence Research and Development Organisation over the next 10 years, “what is required today is required today”, the air chief marshal said.
Singh’s remarks came in the backdrop of a delay in the delivery of 83 Tejas Mk 1A fighter jets by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, The Indian Express reported. The contract for the light combat aircraft had been signed with the state-owned aerospace and defence company in 2021.
The air force had also signed a contract with HAL for the delivery of 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft, according to the newspaper. The induction for the aircraft was scheduled to start in September.
The statements also came amid tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad, which escalated on May 7 when the Indian military carried out strikes – codenamed Operation Sindoor – on what it claimed were terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which killed 26 persons on April 22.
This article first appeared on Scroll.in
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