History was created in the Indian armed forces as Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh and Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi flew together on the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
The milestone event, which took place on at Bengaluru's Aero India 2025, saw the two top military officers—former course mates from the National Defence Academy (NDA)—taking off from Air Force Station Yelahanka for a brief but successful sortie.
This was the first time that Indian military's two serving chiefs had flown a fighter jet together, emphasizing growing synergy among armed forces. General Dwivedi, visibly overjoyed by the experience, described it as the most memorable moment of his life.
He spoke for IAF pilots who delivered the practice admirably and emphasized the essence of joint operations in advancing national security.
It also brought back memories of Aero India 2019 when the late General Bipin Rawat, then Chief of the Army Staff and later India's first Chief of Defence Staff, flew in the trainer version of Tejas.
It was a significant moment, especially for the military fraternity, since it pointed to the continued development of India's indigenous aviation capabilities.
Aero India 2025, which began on February 10 and runs until February 14, is supposed to be a spectacular presentation of the aerospace strides India has made.
The biennial airshow has evolved into one of Asia's premier defense exhibitions, commanding attention from all quarters of the globe. The Tejas sortie by the service chiefs thus became the perfect curtain-raiser to this big event, underlining India's hard power and modernization.
With top military leadership endorsing India’s homegrown fighter, Aero India 2025 is poised to celebrate indigenous defense technologies while reinforcing the nation’s push for self-reliance in military aviation.
