"First 2 Tejas Mark 1A May Be Delivered By September-End": Defence Secretary RK Singh At NDTV Summit

Two indigenous fighters, Tejas Mark 1As, are likely to be delivered by September-end, said Defence Secretary RK Singh on Saturday, highlighting the massive push to become self-reliant in the defence sector. The Tejas is going to replace the MIG-21 and become a workhorse for the Indian Air Force, he said at NDTV's Defence Summit.

"The intent is to provide enough visibility to HAL to perfect this platform. About 38 are already in service, another 80-odd are being manufactured; 10 of them are ready, and two engines have been delivered so far. Hopefully, the first two of those are going to be delivered with weapons integration this September. We will do the contact signing next month," said Mr Singh during a fireside chat with Vishnu Som.

"With this combination, they have enough visibility and order book for four to five years. Hopefully, they (HAL) will be able to perfect this platform, integrate the radar and Indian weapons, so that it becomes a workhorse for us along with the Sukhoi," added the senior official.

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On the 'Make in India' push in the defence sector, Mr Singh said that being self-reliant would help the country maintain its strategic autonomy.

"It is a strategic imperative now that we need to be self-reliant to maintain our strategic autonomy. The only way we do that is by ensuring that the bulk of our defence needs are met within the country. Since Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's government came to power in 2014, the focus on self-reliance has been relentless," he added.

The top bureaucrat said India has now set a benchmark of spending 75% of its capital expenditure domestically and asserted that foreign manufacturers now must invest and make in India to qualify for most of these orders.

On drones changing the nature of warfare, especially in the wake of Operation Sindoor, Mr Singh said the recent anti-terror operation was a reality check in many ways. He said India's air defence systems, including the legacy systems, worked very well.

However, there is still space for improvement.

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"A lot of improvement is required in drones. Our civilian drone manufacturing ecosystem has grown and expanded quite a bit. To achieve military-grade drones, we need to put in a lot of effort, and our drone manufacturers are aware of it. Our drone manufacturers are aware of it," he said.

Mr Singh backed the need for research and development, but said the approach must be pragmatic.

"Critical technology will not be shared or shared at a very high rate. We must focus on Indian designs and development...Our approach must be pragmatic. We can't allow our forces to have such capability differences vis-a-vis other countries while we wait for research and development to fructify," he added.

Mr Singh also talked about his role during the Op Sindoor. Asked if he was tense during the military operation to avenge the Pahalgam attack, he said, "A little bit tense on the first day. Every morning, I played tennis, so there was no real stress for me in that sense."

"I used to get regular updates in terms of what was happening, events, and losses, if any. Thankfully, we hardly had any losses. We inflicted most of the losses. We were very confident that we would be able to escalate if it escalates further, and dominate and make them succumb," said Mr Singh.