New air force chief calls for India to ‘catch up’ with China on defence tech

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh says the country is lagging behind its neighbour on technology and production of equipment

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Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said none of the 83 Tejas Mark-1A combat aircraft due for delivery this year had been received. Photo: defence.in

Published: 6:20pm, 7 Oct 2024

The new Indian Air Force chief has warned that the country has fallen behind China on defence technology and equipment and says it needs to “catch up”.

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh made the remarks at a press briefing in New Delhi on Friday, days after taking up the role and ahead of the 92nd anniversary of the air force on Tuesday.

Singh pointed to a delayed order of supersonic fighter jets being built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, saying none of the 83 Tejas Mark-1A combat aircraft that were promised this year had been delivered, according to The Hindu.

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh took command of the air force on September 30. Photo: Handout

“I am very confident that as far as the human angle is concerned – as far as our people behind the machines are concerned – we are way ahead of [China],” Singh was quoted as saying.

“We were ahead of [China] in technology some time back, but we have lagged and need to catch up,” he said.

“As far as production rates are concerned, we are way behind. We need to catch up with that. And that will happen over time. It cannot happen overnight.”

India and China have a long-running dispute over their undemarcated 3,488km (2,167-mile) border, known as the Line of Actual Control. Tensions worsened after a clash in the Himalayan border area in 2020 in which at least 20 Indian and four Chinese troops were killed – the first deadly skirmish between the two sides in at least 45 years.