SOURCE: IDRW.ORG
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, the current Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force (IAF), has openly criticized the pace and approach towards indigenous Aircraft manufacturing in India. Speaking recently, he highlighted the slow and often painful process of designing, developing, and manufacturing Aircraft within the country. His comments have sparked a broader conversation about the need for a more dynamic and aggressive strategy in defense production.
During his remarks, Air Chief Marshal Singh pointed out the inherent delays in the development cycle of indigenous projects. “Everything being designed, developed, manufactured within the country, it is a slow process, it is a painful process,” he stated, underscoring the challenges faced by the IAF and other defense sectors in achieving self-reliance.
Despite the push for ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-reliant India), Singh observed a noticeable lack of ‘mission mode’ urgency. He questioned whether the current efforts truly reflect the intensity and focus required to meet national security needs efficiently. “Are we in mission mode towards it? Are we working in mission mode? What we call mission mode? I don’t see that energy, whether with us or with the designers or with the manufacturer,” he remarked, signaling a disconnect between policy objectives and on-ground execution.
To address these shortcomings, the Air Chief proposed a strategy of “parallel processing.” He suggested that instead of a sequential approach, where development is followed by production, both processes should occur concurrently. This method would allow for quicker integration of new technologies and faster delivery of operational hardware to the forces.
Singh’s vision includes a shift away from complete dependency on foreign acquisitions but recognizes the impracticality of an abrupt cessation of imports. “We can’t say that tomorrow onwards I will not buy anything,” he admitted, indicating the need for a balanced strategy where indigenous capabilities are rapidly scaled up while maintaining necessary foreign collaborations.
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