India receives three units of S-400 missile systems from Russia: Chief Air Marshal AP Singh
- In Reports
- 07:03 PM, Oct 04, 2024
- Myind Staff
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh announced on Friday that Russia has sent three units of the S-400 missile system to India. He also mentioned that Russia has promised to deliver the remaining two units by next year.
Speaking at a press conference prior to Air Force Day, the chief of Air Staff addressed geopolitical tensions and disputes across various regions, emphasising the value of having weapons systems developed domestically to counter potential security threats.
He said the Indian Air Force aims to have its entire inventory manufactured in India by 2047, adding that "When it comes to conflict situations, if you are relying on getting your weapons from outside, there will always be different interests and changing interests which can create a choke point for you. If you need to fight the war...you have to have them being manufactured in India. You cannot afford to have them being bought and rely on that supply chain.
"It is imperative that we have these things being produced in India...we can't be stocking up everything forever. These things will have life. If we keep stocking up, we'll have wastage," said the Air Chief Marshal. The head of the Indian Air Force emphasized that India is capable of attacking enemies abroad, citing the Balakot airstrikes as evidence of this ability. "We have the capability to strike our enemies in foreign lands and we showed it in the Balakot air strikes," he stated. IAF chief went on to say, "As far as Eastern Ladakh is concerned, the infra development on the other side is rapid. We are also matching up and new airfields are coming up at Nyoma and also beefing up existing capabilities. Airfields are being upgraded in the Central sector."
"We have to decide on the route to be taken for the procurement (of 114 new fighter aircraft). We are right now looking at the DAP-2020 for the 114 multi-role fighter programme and we want it to be Made in India," he added.
Chief AP Singh also announced that the IAF is focussing on the induction of advanced weaponry, such as long-range surface-to-air guided weapons like the Kusha. “We are looking at inducting the long-range surface to air-guided weapons like the Kusha, a large number of Akash missiles have been inducted and we are now looking at Akash NG.”
Agniveers will instil pride in the Indian Air Force, according to the Air Chief Marshal. "Our feedback on Agniveers has been very positive. We were asked if we could absorb more than 25% Agniveer and we said that we could. The decision has to be taken by the government."
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