India approves development of prototype advanced fighter jet
India's defence minister approved yesterday a programme to develop an advanced fighter jet prototype. Rajnath Singh approved the prototype of a 5th generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), the ministry said in a statement, calling it a 'significant push towards enhancing India's indigenous defence capabilities'.
India's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) -- a government agency under the Ministry of Defence responsible for aircraft design -- is 'set to execute the programme through industry partnership', it added.
'This is an important step... which will be a major milestone towards aatmanirbharta ('self-reliance') in the aerospace sector'.
India's arms purchases have steadily risen to account for nearly 10% of all imports globally in 2019-23, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said last year.
The world's most populous nation has deepened defence cooperation with Western countries in recent years, including the Quad alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia, as it slowly shifts away from its longstanding reliance on Russian military hardware.
India signed in April a multi-billion-dollar deal to purchase 26 Rafale fighter jets from France's Dassault Aviation, adding to 36 already acquired, and replacing Russian MiG-29K jets.
But Singh has also promised at least $100 billion in fresh domestic military hardware contracts by 2033 to spur local arms production. This decade India has opened an expansive new helicopter factory, launched its first homemade aircraft carrier, warships and submarines, and conducted a successful longrange hypersonic missile test.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
35 minutes ago
- Gulf Insider
Zelensky Boasts Of 'Absolutely Brilliant' Longest Range Strikes
Ukraine's President Zelensky is spiking the football, and poking the Russian bear (or rather jabbing it pretty hard), as he issued a statement calling Sunday's massive drone attack on Russian territory which destroyed strategic bombers 'an absolutely brilliant result'. He described that the attack happened 'One year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution. Our most long-range operation.' The Ukrainians are calling it 'Operation Spider's Web'. Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk delivered a report regarding today's operation. An absolutely brilliant result. A result achieved solely by Ukraine. One year, six months, and nine days from the start of planning to effective execution. Our most long-range… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 1, 2025 Indeed there are reports of the operation's reach going very far north… Seems destroying Russia's strategic bombers wasnt enough for Ukraine today – the city of Severomorsk that houses Russia's nuclear submarines – is no longer not violently exploding. — Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) June 1, 2025 Russia's military has since issued official statement confirming the scope of the massive drone swarm strikes: Military airfields across Russia have been attacked in a series of kamikaze drone strikes, the country's Defense Ministry reported on Sunday, blaming the incidents on Kiev. Most of the strikes were successfully repelled, with some resulting in material damage, it added. Airfields were targeted in the Murmansk Region in the country's north, in Ivanovo and Ryazan regions in central Russia as well as in Irkutsk Region in Siberia and Amur Region in the Far East, the ministry said. All the attacks employed first-person view (PFV) kamikaze drones, with some of them being launched from territories in close proximity to the airfields, it stated. Some of the culprits behind the attacks have been detained, the ministry said, without revealing the number of those arrested or their identities. The Russian military also said that the 'Kiev regime' was ultimately responsible for the strikes, which they described as 'terrorist attacks.' Meanwhile, Washington still feigning ignorance of planning stage of attack… So we're supposed to believe that no one in the sprawling US intelligence apparatus, which plays a granular, intricate role in the Ukrainian war effort, ever received any "notification" of this massive and unprecedented drone attack on Russian nuclear-capable warplanes — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) June 1, 2025 Update (1240ET): On Sunday, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued an official statement that a coordinated Ukrainian drone swarm attack targeted and damaged military aircraft across several airbases located deep within Russian territory. Affected airfields reportedly include: Murmansk Oblast Irkutsk Oblast Ivanovo Oblast Ryazan Oblast Amur Oblast Multiple U.S. media outlets—including Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, and CBS News—have independently confirmed the Ukrainian drone swarm operation targeted and destroyed approximately 40 Russian military aircraft across four airbases. According to Ukrainian intelligence officials cited by CBS News, the aircraft destroyed include Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 bombers, which play a central role in Russia's strategic and nuclear-capable long-range aviation forces. ✈️✈️✈️🤩🤩🤩 — MAKS 25 🇺🇦👀 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) June 1, 2025 The Military Balance+, a database maintained by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, indicated that Russia had a fleet of 54 Tu-22M3s and 58 Tu-95MS bombers before the attack. It remains unclear how many of these long-range bombers were destroyed. ⚡️34% of Russia's strategic aviation (cruise missile carriers) worth about $7 billion was hit by today's Spiderweb attack – Security Service of Ukraine. — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 1, 2025 A Ukrainian security official told the Associated Press that planning for the attack took about 1.5 years and was personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. While White House spokespeople didn't provide a comment to CBS on the attack, administration sources told the outlet that the Trump administration was not aware of it beforehand. Meanwhile, Trump admin sources told CBS that the White House wasn't aware that today's large-scale drone attack by Ukraine on the Russian military aircraft was comingSomeone is lying — zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 1, 2025 However… Ukrainian official: We notified the Trump administration in advance of the attack on Russian airports — First Squawk (@FirstSquawk) June 1, 2025 Latest headlines: RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY ACCUSES UKRAINE OF TERROR ATTACK: IFX RUSSIAN DEFMIN SAYS UKRAINE USED DRONES AGAINST AIRFIELDS: IFX RUSSIA SAYS SEVERAL PLANES CAUGHT FIRE AFTER DRONE ATTACK: IFX RUSSIA SAYS NO CIVILIAN OR MILITARY CASUALTIES IN ATTACK: TASS Odds of nuclear weapon detonation (view Polymarket)… Odds of nuclear weapon detonation in 2025 on Polymarket rise from 13% to as high as 19% in last 4 hours — zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 1, 2025 Nothing like starting the morning with a cup of coffee and watching the Ukraine war inch closer towards major escalation. Additional headline from earlier: And does this mean Russia pulls out of tomorrow's peace talks? * * * Open-source footage circulating on X depicts a coordinated Ukrainian drone swarm targeting Russian long-range strategic bombers—aircraft capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear payloads—deep within Russian territory. The scale, precision, and depth of the drone swarm attack on multiple Russian airfields have led some military observers to describe the operation as a 'Russian Pearl Harbor.' Bloomberg reports that over 40 strategic bombers—including Tu-95 and Tu-22M3 aircraft—were damaged in a Ukrainian drone swarm attack on multiple airbases, including the Belaya military base, located deep in eastern Siberia. Here's more color on the Ukrainian offensive deep within Russia via Bloomberg: Ukraine's Security Service chief Vasyl Malyuk led the operation and losses assessed to be around $2 billion, the official said. Ukrainian drones on Sunday attacked a military base near the settlement of Sredniy, Igor Kobzev, the governor for the Irkutsk region that's some 5,190 km (3,220 miles) from Moscow, said in a Telegram statement. He didn't specify the scope of the damage. The settlement of Sredniy is in the immediate vicinity of the Belaya military base. Russian Telegram channels also published unverified reports of a drone attack near the town of Olenegorsk, around 1,840 km from Moscow. The Olenya aviation base is located near Olenegorsk. Bloomberg couldn't independently verify reports of large- scale damage to the Russian military bases. Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov didn't immediately reply to a request for comment. X user Visegrád 24 reports that drone swarm attacks targeted four Russian airfields. Russia's strategic bomber fleet burns!Drones were lunched from trucks near 4 airfields deep inside than 40 planes destroyed at:– Olenya Air Base in Murmansk– Belaya Air Base in Irkutsk– Ivanovo Air Base in Ivanovo– Dyagilevo Air Base RyazanVia @ConflictDISP — Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) June 1, 2025 Open-source video footage shared by conflict monitor OSINTtechnical on X appears to show a coordinated Ukrainian drone swarm launched from heavily modified shipping containers on a trailer near Russia's Belaya Airbase. Footage of a Ukrainian FPV strike drone rising from a cargo truck and heading towards Russia's Belaya Airbase. The drone launch and airbase hit were over 4000 km (2500 mi) from Ukraine. — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) June 1, 2025 BREAKING: Video shows Russian men climbing onto a truck launching Ukrainian drones in an attempt to stop them from taking off. — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) June 1, 2025 More footage—transmitted via video link from the kamikaze drones—captures multiple strikes on long-range Russian bombers, reportedly resulting in significant damage. Social media accounts claim the attacks targeted both the Belaya and Olenya Airbases. BREAKING: Major Ukrainian FPV drone swarm hits Russian FPV drone attacks struck Olenya and Belaya Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers on fire. — Clash Report (@clashreport) June 1, 2025 According to X user Insider Paper , Russian military bloggers have likened the scale and impact of the strike to a 'Russian Pearl Harbor,' underscoring that a dramatic escalation by Russia in the war in Ukraine could be imminent. To note, this attack deep within Russia comes just a day before Moscow and Kyiv prepare to send delegations to Turkey for the second round of peace talks. Also read: US Is 'Major' Cause Of Ukraine War: Beijing Goes On Attack
Daily Tribune
5 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Ukraine Launches Major Drone Strike on Russian Air Bases, Hits Over 40 Warplanes
Ukraine carried out one of its largest drone attacks of the war on Sunday, targeting Russian military aircraft at multiple air bases, according to a senior Ukrainian security official who spoke to Reuters. The operation, reportedly orchestrated by Ukraine's SBU domestic intelligence agency, struck four Russian airfields simultaneously, damaging or destroying more than 40 aircraft — including long-range strategic bombers such as the Tu-95 and Tu-22. These bombers have frequently been used by Russia to launch missile strikes deep into Ukrainian territory. If confirmed, this would mark the most damaging Ukrainian drone assault since the war began, delivering a significant blow to Moscow's long-range air strike capabilities. The unnamed official provided video footage appearing to show several aircraft engulfed in flames, some identifiable as Tu-95 bombers. However, Reuters noted it could not independently verify the authenticity of the claims or the visuals. Facing a shortage of long-range missiles, Ukraine has ramped up the development and deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to strike Russian military and energy infrastructure, shifting the dynamics of the conflict. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts remain uncertain. Russia has proposed new peace talks in Istanbul scheduled for Monday, but Kyiv has yet to confirm its participation.
Daily Tribune
5 hours ago
- Daily Tribune
Ukrainian Land Forces Commander Resigns Following Deadly Strike on Training Ground
Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, commander of Ukraine's land forces, resigned on Sunday, taking personal responsibility for a recent Russian strike that killed several Ukrainian soldiers at the 239th military training facility. Appointed in November 2024, Drapatyi described his decision as a moral obligation. 'This is a conscious step dictated by my personal sense of responsibility for the tragedy at the 239th training ground,' he wrote on Facebook. The attack has deeply impacted Ukraine's military leadership at a time when the country remains engaged in intense fighting across multiple fronts. Drapatyi's resignation is seen as a significant development within the ranks of Ukraine's defence strategy, given his key role in overseeing land operations during a critical phase of the war.
