‘Rafale’ ended long wait for ‘Next Generation Aircraft’: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the faculty and students of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) in Wellington, Tamil Nadu, and said induction of Rafale ended the long wait for ‘Next Generation Aircraft’ in the country.

Listing the modernisation initiatives of Indian armed forces, the Raksha Mantri said, the induction of Rafale ended the long wait for Next Generation Aircraft. Arjun Main Battle Tank, Light Utility Helicopter, developing counter measure systems for Armored Fighting Vehicles and modernisation of Air Defence guns have revolutised our military, the Defence Minister added.

Rajnath Singh also spoke about renaming of Master General of Ordinance into ‘Master General of Sustenance’ and the consideration of ‘Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs)’ that will pave the way for quicker decision making in the defence ecosystem.

Transformative changes in the military education

Raksha Mantri informed that transformative changes made in India’s military education are enabling the nation to effectively take on the emerging national security challenges.

Among the major structural reforms, the Defence Minister mentioned the appointment of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and setting up of the Department of Military Affairs will bolster the security infrastructure.

“The decisions have directly linked our Armed Forces to governance as they now have direct involvement in all processes. The appointment of CDS has provided stability to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee as now there is a permanent and single point advisor to the government on important issues of defence and security,” he said.

The Union Minister also listed the creation of ‘Joint Commands’ as Indian forces should develop integrated operational concepts to combat the enemy in a synergistic manner.

Restructuring of Army Headquarters, Decentralization in decision making, formation of a future-oriented linear force are some of the major structural reforms the Defence Minister highlighted.

‘Aatmanirbharta’ in Defence ecosystem

The Government of India has several steps to promote self-reliance in defence manufacturing, these initiatives include setting up of ‘Defence Industrial Corridors’ in Uttar Pradesh & Tamil Nadu, Two Positive Indigenisation Lists, launch of Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, transfer of technology free of cost from Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) to private firms and establishing Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) to encourage innovation and technology development in the country.

Highlighting the role of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Rajanth Singh said HAL has been given an order of about Rs 50,000 crore from the Defence Forces apart from the export orders.