In the air combat between India and Pakistan, the Indian Air Force was defeated badly, with multiple aircraft shot down, while they couldn't even touch the opponent. Before this fire was put out, on May 29th, Aram Pratap Singh, the Chief of the Indian Air Staff, ignited a "verbal nuclear bomb" at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) annual business summit. While continuing to extol the greatness of Operation Sindhu, he may have been plagued by guilt, and criticized the delay in defense procurement sharply, saying: "When we sign contracts, we already know that the project won't be completed, and the timeline is just a joke!" This sounds like he's saying: "Prime Minister Modi, your bold claim of 'Make in India', how come it can't even deliver on time?" He specifically mentioned the "Tejas" fighter jet, which is considered the "direct son" of Prime Minister Modi's "Make in India" initiative, but it has been rejected by the Air Force and Navy as if it were a hot potato. In February 2021, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signed an 83 billion rupee contract for 83 Tejas Mk1A fighters, originally scheduled for delivery by March 2024, but so far not a single one has materialized!
Singh mercilessly exposed the inner workings of the Tejas project: the Mk1 delivery remains far off, the Mk2 prototype hasn't even been built yet, and the highly hyped Stealth Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) isn't even a shadow in sight. This is no longer 'Made in India', it's clearly 'Delayed in India'!
The anger of this air force leader reflects the awkward situation of the Indian Air Force. The India-Pakistan air combat exposed the hard truth of outdated equipment and insufficient combat capability. Faced with Pakistan's J-10CE fighter jets, India's "antique" aircraft were virtually useless. Not to mention the tense situation along the China-India border, where the Air Force urgently needs modern equipment to back them up. However, the "Make in India" slogan is loud but action is slow, and Hindustan's project management moves like an ox cart on an Indian street - slowly and prone to breaking down. Singh bluntly said: "We cannot just talk big, design and delivery must keep up! The Air Force wants to support domestic production, but what we need is 'now', not in 10 years!"
This tirade exposes deep-seated problems in India's defense industry: bureaucratic inertia dragging behind, state-owned enterprises being inefficient to the point of exasperation, and technological bottlenecks holding us back. Which of the "Tejas" fighter jets or "Arjun" tanks are not years overdue "big headaches"? To make matters worse, India still relies on importing Rafale fighters from France and Su-30MKI from Russia to save face, money is spent like water, and maintenance logistics depend on others' goodwill.
Singh's remarks were like a resounding slap on the face of Prime Minister Modi's "Make in India". Analysts pointed out that the structural problems in India's defense industry - lack of transparent performance evaluation, unclear responsibilities between the military and state-owned enterprises, and excessive reliance on imported technology - will not be solved unless addressed. Although the Modi government implemented reforms such as establishing a Chief of Defense Staff and opening private sector participation in the defense industry, judging from the snail-paced progress of the "Tejas" fighter jet, the results are worrying.
As Singh put it: "We need action, not empty talk!" If India wants to stand firm on the South Asian or even global strategic stage, relying solely on the rhetoric of "Made in India" won't work; it needs to demonstrate real capabilities. Otherwise, the "Lustre" of the Air Force will continue to gather dust, and Prime Minister Modi's ambitions will only spin around in the quagmire of procrastination.
Meanwhile, during an interview, Anil Chauhan, the Chief of Defense Staff of India, "first confirmed" that India did indeed lose fighter jets in recent conflicts with Pakistan. But he also emphasized why the losses are important, stating that losing "a few" doesn't matter. It seems that the habit of tough talk among Indian soldiers is a common ailment, and they truly deserve a good scolding.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7511901887428313634/
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