New Delhi, March 04 (HS): A high-level committee constituted on the instructions of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has identified several important areas to modernise the Indian Air Force. On this basis, the committee headed by the Defence Secretary has submitted its report to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, suggesting measures to make the Air Force more powerful.

Recently, The Air Chief Marshal AP Singh had pointed out the shortage of fighter aircraft in the Air Force and the need to manufacture at least 35-40 military aircraft in India every year.

On the instructions of the Defence Minister, a high-level committee headed by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh was instructed to comprehensively investigate all the issues and prepare a clear action plan. The committee comprised the Deputy Chief of the Air Force, Secretary (Defence Production), Secretary of the Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman of DRDO, Director General Acquisition as members and Member Secretary of the Air Force. This committee has prepared a report after reviewing every aspect of capacity development including technology and weapons to improve the combat effectiveness of the Indian Air Force, which has been submitted to the Defense Minister.

According to the Ministry of Defence, several important areas have been identified in the report to modernize the Air Force. In its recommendations, the committee has suggested measures to make the Air Force more powerful. This report of the high-level committee has come to the force when recently the Air Force Chief had pointed out the shortage of fighter aircraft and the need to manufacture at least 35-40 military aircraft in India every year. He had said that India's air fleet also needs this to meet the deficiencies that will arise after the phase-out of the existing fleet in the next 5-10 years.

The Air Force Chief had stressed That we need to be able to fight this long battle, for which we need to be able to keep up with the production rate required for weapons during the war.

According to the Defence Ministry, the committee has identified areas of key importance and made recommendations for implementation in the short, medium and long term, so that the desired capability enhancement goals of the Indian Air Force can be easily achieved.

The report also emphasizes the need for the private sector to complement the efforts of Defense Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to increase self-reliance in the aerospace sector. The Defense Minister has directed to follow the recommendations in a timely manner on receipt of the committee's report.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar