Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh has flagged serious concerns over inordinate delays in various defence acquisition projects and failure to stick to delivery schedules for supply of key platforms even as he hailed Operation Sindoor as a ‘national victory’.
In his first public comments following the four-day military clashes between India and Pakistan, the Air Chief Marshal said that ‘not a single project’ has been completed on time and that the armed forces have refrained from calling ‘black sheep as black sheep’.
In his remarks at the CII Business Summit, he, however, did not provide specific details of the projects or made a reference of the period since when delays have been impacting the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The IAF chief also referred to dialogues from Salman Khan-starrer movie Wanted: “Ek baar jo humne commit kiya hai, phir mai apne aap ki bhi nahi sunta (Once we commit to something, then I don’t even to listen to myself after that), to emphasise that commitments made to the armed forces on defence projects have to be adhered to.
Air Chief Marshal Singh, known for his plain speaking, suggested that the IAF was largely looking ‘outward’ for its procurement over around a decade back but that approached changes and it started looking inward for opportunities within India after a ‘rap on our knuckle’.
He emphasised that the current geopolitical situation has ‘made us realise that Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) is the only solution’.
The Chief of Air Staff said the Operation Sindoor has given the Indian armed forces a ‘clear idea’ of where ‘we are headed and what we need in the future’.
Lauding the armed forces as well as all agencies concerned for the success of Operation Sindoor, Air Chief Marshal Singh said: “We were taking the path of truth, I think, God was with us also in this.” Under Operation Sindoor, the IAF played the leading role in destroying nine terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir early on May 7 under Operation Sindoor, in response to the dastardly Pahalgam terror attack.”
ll subsequent retaliations to Pakistani offensives were carried out under this operation.
In his address, the IAF chief lamented the delays in implementation of defence projects. The IAF has been upset over huge delays by the
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in the delivery of Tejas light combat jets.
“Timelines is a big issue; that is where the ‘vachan’ (commitment) part comes in. Once a timeline is given.. not a single project that I can think of, has been completed on time,” he said.
“So, this is something where we have to look in, why should we promise something which cannot be achieved.”
“While signing the contract itself, sometimes, we are sure that it is not going to come up. But, we just sign the contract and see what can be done after that.. obviously then the process gets vitiated,” he said.
On Operation Sindoor, Air Chief Marshal Singh said ‘this war was won by a whole-of-nation approach’, and the same approach needs to continue while talking about empowering the defence forces.
“Actually, it is not just a whole-of-nation approach, we have to be in a whole-of-nation mission mode, if I can call it, to make sure that we accelerate and produce results,” he said, in an apparent reference to military modernisation.
Air Chief Marshal Singh began his address by terming the Operation Sindoor a ‘national victory’.
“We were taking the path of truth, I think, God was with us also in this,” he said.
“I am sure, every Indian contributed towards this victory. Like it has been said again and again that this was an operation which was executed in a very professional manner by everybody — all the agencies, all the forces, we all came together…and when truth is with you, then everything happens on its own,” he said.
