Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat on Thursday said that India's ultimate objective is to win future conflicts with homemade weapon systems and to support Centre's 'Atmnanirbhar Bharat' initiative.
"Our focus will remain on indigenisation and efforts to progressively support Atmanirbhar Bharat is our mission. We hope to see our Air Force touch the sky with glory with aircraft that has major components including engines that are Made in India," Gen Bipin Rawat said.
His statement comes a day after the Indian government cleared the purchase of 83 indigenously-developed Tejas MK-A1 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.
The aircraft is equipped with critical operational capabilities of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Missile, Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite and Air to Air Refuelling (AAR), would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of the Indian Air Force
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the largest indigenous defence procurement deal worth about Rs 48,000 crore to buy 83 LCA Tejas Mark-1A fighter jets.
"This deal will be a game-changer for self-reliance in the Indian defence manufacturing," defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Twitter as he announced the final approval given to the mega deal.
