SOURCE: AFI

In a candid interaction with Indian media, Tim Davis, a former Royal Air Force (RAF) instructor, offered a detailed assessment of the SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft, a platform still in service with the Indian Air Force (IAF) but long retired by other nations. Davis, who spent decades training pilots, including many from India, underscored both the strengths and limitations of the aircraft, while making a strong case for its retirement.

Reflecting on the Jaguar’s role in the RAF, Davis noted that the UK operated the aircraft for 34 years, primarily as a low-level strike attack platform. “We did a lot with that aircraft,” he said. “It was used in a similar way to how India uses it today.” However, Davis acknowledged that by the late 1990s and early 2000s, the aircraft had begun to show its age. More advanced platforms like the Tornado GR4 and later the Eurofighter Typhoon began to eclipse the Jaguar in terms of performance, range, payload, and avionics.

SOURCE: AFI

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is grappling with a crisis of unprecedented proportions, one that threatens its ability to safeguard the nation against growing threats from China and Pakistan. In a recent interview on The Wire with host Karan Thapar, Shashank Singh—a leading defense analyst, consultant at Caravan magazine, and lecturer at Yale University—laid bare the gravity of the situation. Drawing from his detailed exposé in Caravan, Singh highlighted a multi-faceted emergency: dwindling squadron strength, outdated aircraft, a lack of critical force multipliers, personnel shortages, and systemic policy failures. His stark warning—“the crisis is very, very serious”—underscores a national security challenge that demands urgent action.

At the heart of the crisis is the IAF’s depleted squadron strength. The IAF is sanctioned for 42 squadrons but currently operates only 31—a 26% shortfall. Singh pointed out that as far back as 2016, defense expert Ashley Tellis assessed that the IAF needs 60 squadrons to effectively counter a two-front threat from China and Pakistan. Yet, the numbers have only dwindled. Two of the 31 squadrons are equipped with MiG-21s, aircraft so outdated that Singh notes they are “just being kept to make up the numbers.” Similarly, the IAF’s Jaguar fleet—long retired by other air forces like the RAF—lacks spare parts, rendering it increasingly obsolete.

SOURCE: AFI

Sameer Joshi, CEO of NewSpace Research and Technologies (NRT), took to X this week to spotlight a pressing challenge facing India’s aerospace and defense sector. In a pointed post tagging Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Joshi celebrated NRT’s strides in delivering deep tech and innovation but lamented the lack of patient capital for companies like his. “VCs love the food delivery guys, yes. GFR and L1 in #DeepTech also hurts…,” he wrote, urging Goyal to take note. As India aims to cement its place in the global aerospace race, Joshi’s words underscore a broader tension: the struggle of deep tech innovators to secure the long-term funding needed to soar.

NewSpace Research and Technologies, a Bengaluru-based firm founded in 2017 by Joshi and Julius Amrit, has been a trailblazer in India’s aerospace and defense landscape. The company focuses on next-generation unmanned systems, developing persistent drones for earth observation and communications that operate at altitudes of 5 to 20 km with endurance ranging from days to months. NRT’s High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) UAV, boasting a 3+ month endurance, positions it among a handful of global competitors in cutting-edge aerospace tech. Recent achievements include a solar-powered UAV that flew continuously for 21 hours—a first for India—and setting a global record for the highest altitude flight in a multirotor system.

SOURCE: AFI

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the conflict has been as much a war of information as it has been a war of weapons. Ukraine, with the support of Western media, has crafted a narrative of defiance and heroism that often borders on the absurd, blending tales of improbable battlefield feats with exaggerated claims of Russian desperation.

Stories like a Ukrainian pensioner shooting down a £74 million Russian Su-34 jet with a rifle, a woman downing a drone with a jar of tomatoes, Russian reservists fighting with shovels, and Moscow resorting to using dishwasher chips in tanks have captured global attention. While these narratives have bolstered Ukraine’s morale and international support, they also raise questions about the role of Western media in amplifying propaganda that stretches the limits of credibility.