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, “Timelines – This is crucial. Every project I can think of has been delayed. Why we can’t meet promised timelines? Sometimes we know it’s unachievable but sign the contract anyway. We need to be realistic and transparent from the start.”
The remarks come as the IAF pushes for faster indigenisation and domestic capability under the government’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative. “We need both capability and capacity. We can’t just produce in India – we must design and develop here too. To produce at scale, we need capacity. So, trust and communication between the forces and industry must continue. We need to be open and forthright to ensure the relationship stays strong,” he added.
“Now, we must also be future-ready. Over the next ten years, we will see more results from Indian industry and DRDO. But what we need today is required today. We need to act quickly – maybe with fast-track Make in India programs – to address immediate needs while longer-term design and development continues,” he said.
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.”
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” has given us clarity on the evolving nature of warfare. As the Chief of Naval Staff said, the character of war is changing. New technologies are constantly emerging. We need to realign our thinking accordingly, and work is already underway,” he said. ” One important point raised by the Honorable Raksha Mantri and the Defense Secretary is the involvement of private industry in the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project. I’m not labeling its generation – it just needs to be contemporary when it’s built. But clearing private participation is a major step and reflects national confidence in our private sector. I’m sure this will pave the way for bigger developments in the future,” he added.