On Thursday, Air Chief Marshal Amarpreet Singh said on the delay in purchase and delivery of defense system that there is not a single project which has been completed on time. It is a matter of thinking why we make such a promise, which cannot be fulfilled. Many times when signing the contract, it is known that it will not happen on time, yet signs, which causes the entire system to deteriorate.
This is the first time an army chief has questioned the system in this way. Air Chief Marshal said at the CII Annual Business Summit;-
Earlier on January 8, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh had expressed concern about the delay in delivery of Tejas fighter jets. He had said that 40 jets have not yet been received by the force. While countries like China are increasing their strength.
Delivery of Tejas, AMCA and MK2 is also late
Air Chief said that in February 2021, a contract of ₹ 48,000 crore was signed with HAL for Tejas MK1A fighter jet. The delivery was to begin from March 2024, but not a single aircraft came till date. The prototype of Tejas MK2 has also not been prepared yet. Advanced Stealth Fighter AMCA also has no prototype yet.
Today’s need to be fulfilled today
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said that we have to be ready for today, only then we will be able to be ready for the future. In the coming 10 years, there will be more output from the industry, but the need today should be fulfilled today.
We cannot only talk about manufacturing in India. We also have to talk about designing. We need trust between the army and the industry. We need to show a lot of openness. Once we are committed to something, we should fulfill it.
