The Indian Air Force conducted Exercise Vayushakti-26 at Pokhran, involving over 130 aircraft in day and night operations. President Droupadi Murmu attended the demonstration and flew in an LCH Prachand as the exercise simulated integrated combat, air defence and special forces missions.
U.S. forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 in a widely-criticised and mismanaged evacuation of over 120,000 people from Kabul, with around 200 casualties.
Boeing already provides simulation training for the crews of India’s C-17 heavy-lift and P-8I maritime aircraft, which are both also under Performance Based Logistics contracts to guarantee availability of platforms.
The acquisition of the S-400, differing points of view on the war in Ukraine, eye-watering costs, a domestic 5th gen fighter program and never having operated any U.S. fighter aircraft are some of the reasons why India can’t and shouldn’t consider the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
The airshow has 403 exhibitors participating in this edition of which 165 are international exhibitors. 63 aircraft will be present at the show, either on static display or for flight demonstrations.
The IAF currently operates four types of fighter aircraft of Russian origin and two western fighter models, with a third — the Rafale — expected to be added to the fleet by September 2019.
The reference to a sale of the fifth generation F-35 has never been made before by any U.S. government official and represents a shift in their willingness to bring it up for discussion with India.
The Indian defence ministry has asked the U.S. Government for a third extension of the validity of the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for the purchase of the last C-17 Globemaster III heavy lift aircraft.
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.
The U.S. government has extended its offer of sale of the last C-17 to India by 30 days, a period widely perceived as insufficient for the Indian defence ministry to complete its process.
StratPost spoke to Christian Scherer, Head of Sales and Marketing at Airbus Defence and Space the scope for the A-400M in India at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace exhibition (LIMA2015).
“I think the policy makes all the sense in the world for what the Prime Minister wants to do for the aerospace and defense sector,” said Chris Raymond, VP for Business Development & Strategy at Boeing Defense Space & Security.
Boeing is expecting a contract from the IAF this year to set up a facility for training pilots and loadmasters for the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Hindon.
Boeing will show-off models of the C-17, P-8I, Apache and Chinook helicopters, ScanEagle UAV and the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.
Carter is looking at the Indian defense ministry to make it easier for US companies to do business with it and wants resolution of issues related to offsets, limitation of liability and delays in decision-making.
