Aircraft manufacturers must deliver on time to the IAF: Air Chief Marshal

Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Sunday, January 4, 2025, emphasized the need to adhere to delivery timelines to keep the Indian Air Force operationally ready in ever-evolving times.

Speaking at a two-day seminar on ‘Aviation 2047’, Air Chief Marshal Singh congratulated the Aviation Development Agency (ADA) on completing 25 years of flying of light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas. ADA designed and developed Tejas with more than 5,600 successful flight attempts. More than 100 design centers including government laboratories, academic institutes and industries have been associated with this programme. Various niche technologies such as carbon composites, lightweight materials, fly-by-wire flight control, digital service management system and glass cockpit have been developed to make the LCA a fourth-generation fighter jet.

Defense Research and Development Organization chief Samir V. Kamat underlined the importance of developing indigenous advanced technology to minimize India’s dependence on imports and thereby realize the vision of an advanced India by 2047.

The seminar brought together domain experts, industrial partners, academics, aviation enthusiasts and speakers from the aviation community to share their views on the evolution of aviation, design innovation, manufacturing and future frontiers.

The focus of ‘Aviation 2047’ is to explore modern aviation technologies including production and assembly for next-generation aircraft, digital manufacturing, aerodynamics for next-generation fighter jets, propulsion technologies, flight testing techniques, digital twin technology, certification challenges, flight control systems, avionics, maintenance challenges in fighter jets, artificial intelligence in aircraft design and precision manufacturing for actuators.