Historic Flight: Air and Army chiefs fly together in Indigenous Tejas
Air and Army chiefs fly together in Indigenous TejasSource- IANS

Historic Flight: Air and Army chiefs fly together in Indigenous Tejas

Tejas Flight Marks Growing Strength of Indian Defence
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Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal A.P. Singh Singh and Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi flew together in the same fighter jet on Sunday. The Air Force and Army Chief have taken this flight in the indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas.

This is the first time that the chiefs of the two armies have flown together in an indigenous fighter aircraft. Tejas is a single-engine light combat aircraft made in the country. During this time, the Chief of Air Staff Pilot and the Chief of the Army Staff were on the co-pilot seat.

Just a day before the launch of Aero India here, this joint flight of the army chiefs has sent a message of joint working, progress and growing strength of Indian forces to influential countries of the world. General Upendra Dwivedi had recently said that the IAF chief had promised him that he would "take me along" when he flies Tejas.

On Sunday, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh fulfilled his promise. He, along with General Upendra Dwivedi, took off this historic flight in the two-seater trainer version of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft from Yelahanka airbase in Bengaluru. There are two key messages for this flight. The first is the demonstration of solidarity in the armed forces and the second is the full confidence of the army chiefs in the indigenous fighter aircraft.

Asia's largest show of its kind 'Aero India 2025' is being organized at Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru, Karnataka. With the overarching theme of 'The Runway to a Billion Opportunities', the event will provide a platform for forging partnerships between foreign and Indian firms and exploring new avenues in the global value chain to accelerate the indigenisation process. The program includes both aerial and stationary demonstrations of a large range of military platforms from the aerospace sector.

The event will be attended by Defence Ministers of many countries of the world. According to the Defence Ministry, this includes a Defence Ministers' Conference, CEOs Roundtable, brainstorming start-up event, spectacular air shows, a huge exhibition area including the India Pavilion and a trade fair of aerospace companies.

Aero India 2025 will begin on February 10 and run till February 14, 2025. The first three days (February 10, 11 and 12) have been kept as business days while February 13 and 14 have been set as public days. On public days, the public will be able to witness this international event.

To facilitate dialogue towards strategic partnership with friendly countries, India will host the Defence Ministers' Conference on the theme 'Bridge – Facilitating International Defence through Global Engagement'. It encapsulates dynamic geopolitical situations and pathways to mutual prosperity, which can be linked through cooperation among countries with a shared vision of security and development.

Several bilateral meetings at the level of Defence Minister, Minister of State for Defence, Chief of Defence Staff and Secretary level will be held during the event. The focus will be on strengthening defence and aerospace ties with friendly countries to explore new avenues to take the partnership to the next level.

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