‘Why promise something which can’t be achieved?’: Air Chief Marshal AP Singh flags delay in defence procurement

“While signing the contract itself, sometimes we are sure that it is not going to come up, but we just sign the contract, thinking we will see what to do after that. Obviously, then, the process gets vitiated,” he added.

Singh’s reference was likely pointing towards the delayed deliveries of the 83 Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mk 1A from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a contract for which was signed in 2021. The IAF has also signed a contract with HAL for deliveries of 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft, the induction of which is scheduled to start by September this year.

Speaking about the criticality of air power, he said that no operations can be done without it, and the recent Operation Sindoor was testimony to that.

“Our focus as far as air power is concerned, we need to make sure that we have the capability and the capacity. We cannot just talk about producing in India, we need to start designing and developing in India,” he said.

Emphasising the need to have trust and an open and forthright communication between the forces and the industry, Singh said the IAF is putting in the maximum possible effort as far as the Make in India programme is concerned.

He said earlier, the IAF was looking outward more, but the current situation had made them realise that atmanirbharta (self-reliance) was the only solution.

“We have to now be ready to be future-ready. That is the concern,” Singh said, adding that while there could be more output from the Indian industry and the Defence Research and Development Organisation in the next 10 years, what is required today is required today.

He said there should be some quick Make in India programmes to achieve the now-ready part of it, while Design in India can continue to produce results in the future.