Air Force chief flags delays in defence systems, says ‘contract signed knowing systems will never come’

India's Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh on Thursday, May 29, flagged delays in procurement of defence systems, saying that several contracts have been signed knowing that the projects will not be delivered.

Speaking at CII Annual Business Summit, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said, “Many times, we know while signing contracts that those systems will never come. Timelines are a big issue. Not a single project I can think of is completed on time.”

“Why should we promise something that cannot be achieved?” he asked.

There may be an indirect reference in his comment to the LCA Mk-1A deliveries by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Also Read | Indian Air Force to carry out major exercise along India-Pakistan border from May 7

It may be recalled the IAF had earlier flagged concerns over delay in new Tejas LCA. According a Hindustan Times report, IAF had expressed its unhappiness over the pace of the LCA Mk-1A programme and flagged the issue to HAL, calling for timely execution of the ₹48,000-crore contract for 83 jets, last year. Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said the delay was affecting several other projects.

Also Read | Operation Sindoor: IAF neutralised THESE Chinese-supplied Pakistani weapons in 23 minutes

Speaking about how trust is intrinsic in the defence, Air Chief said, “Our default setting is trust.” He further elaborated on how steps like R&D, incentives and environment, timelines, capacity building, restraint and accountability help building this trust. 

“We cannot just talk about producing in India, we need to talk about designing. We need to have trust between the forces and industry. We need to be very open. Once we have committed to something, we should deliver. Air Force is trying to do its best to make in India,” he added.

The Air Chief Marshal said, “We have to be now-ready to be future-ready. In 10 years, we will have more output from industry, but what we need today, we need today. We need to quickly get our act together.”

Wars are won by empowering our forces, the Air Chief added.