Speaking at the recent CII Annual Summit in New Delhi, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh stressed how persistent delays in military modernisation projects were impacting operational readiness of the Armed forces. He emphasised that with unrealistic timelines and unachievable promises, some of these projects adversely impact operational readiness of the armed forces in the long run.
His clarion call has come in most timely as the nation grapples with challenges on its borders, especially with the new awareness of the enemy grouping together to launch both covert and overt operations. It calls for a special effort, from all concerned, both private and public sectors, to work unitedly for a common cause.
The IAF chief complimented the deep precision strikes against terror hubs and military bases in Pakistan from May 7 to 10 under Operation Sindoor as a “national victory” and a testament to the collective efforts of the armed forces, different agencies and all citizens in a “whole-of-nation approach” against cross-border terrorism.
“This was an operation executed in a very professional manner by everybody…
“It has given us clarity on the evolving nature of warfare. It has given the armed forces a clear idea of where we are headed and what we need in the future. New technologies are constantly emerging. We need to realign our thinking accordingly, and it is already underway,” he added.
Speaking on delay in defence projects, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh lamented the huge time overruns in domestic defence projects. These have impacted in projects like in the delays in production of the indigenous Tejas Mark-1A jets by defence undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which has left his force grappling with just 30 fighter squadrons when it is authorised to have 42.5, and several other projects.
“Timelines are a big issue… Not a single project that I can think of has been completed on time. So, this is something that we have to look at. Why should we promise something that cannot be achieved?”, he said.
He went to stress that “while signing the contract itself, some of the times we are sure that it is not going to come up. But we just sign the contract. Obviously, then the process gets vitiated.”
“The AMCA needs to be contemporary when it’s built,” he said, referring to the induction of the private sector increasingly coming into defence production, and the doors for it now being opened even in the development of the indigenous fifth-generation fighter called the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA).
“We must be future-ready. Over the next 10 years, we will see more results from Indian industry and DRDO. But what we need today is required today,” he said.
“We need to act quickly, maybe with fast-track ‘Make in India’ programmes, to address immediate needs while longer-term design and development continues. 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,” he added.
