Indian Air Chief stresses accountability, exposes weaknesses in Indian air defence system

The Indian Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh exposed corruption and weakness in India's air defence system. He called for urgent accountability and credibility in India’s defence procurement and manufacturing ecosystem, warning that persistent delays in project timelines are undermining national security and capacity-building efforts.

Speaking at a defence industry event in New Delhi, the Chief of Air Staff stated, “Many times, we know while signing contracts that those systems will never come. Not a single project that I can think of has been completed on time,” he said.

“Why should we promise something which cannot be achieved?” he asked, urging stakeholders, from the public sector to private industry, to reflect seriously on the credibility of their commitments.

"While signing the contract itelf, sometimes we are sure that it is not going to come up, but we just sign the contract," he added.

He stressed that repeated delays have a serious impact on the armed forces' preparedness, warning that the process itself gets “vitiated.”

Read: Pakistan rebukes Indian defence minister’s call for IAEA oversight of nuclear arsenal

Emphasising that trust must be the bedrock of the defence production ecosystem, Singh stated, “We must begin designing and developing defence systems in India, not just producing them.”

Using a popular Salman Khan film dialogue to drive home the point about commitment, he said, “Once we’ve committed, we don’t even listen to ourselves.” 

“Whether it’s land or naval warfare, air power remains indispensable,” he said while emphasising the power of the military, adding, “Even defence forces have been keeping this restraint of not calling, you know, a black sheep, a black sheep. But that cannot continue forever.”

As India moved forward with its ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) push, Singh issued a clarion call to the Indian private sector to rise to the occasion. 

Read: Indian defence minister blesses assault rifles, machine guns during Dussehra ‘weapon worship’ ritual

Quoting Winston Churchill, he warned, “What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared for that which could have been their finest hour.”

He asked Indian industry leaders to look beyond short-term profits and contribute meaningfully to India’s defence preparedness. “If today somebody is manufacturing world-class cars, world-class electronics, world-class equipment in the civil domain, why can't that industry or some of the industry join together and say we will make world-class military equipment?”

“This is your tap on the shoulder,” he concluded in a passionate appeal. “We must now focus on becoming future-ready; that is the real concern.”