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Air chief not in favour of imports from US
Bangalore, Feb 04: Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy said he would prefer to have indigenously manufactured equipment for the Indian Air Force (IAF) over sophisticated gadgets imported from countries such as the United States.
Bangalore, Feb 04: Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy said he would prefer to have indigenously manufactured equipment for the Indian Air Force (IAF) over sophisticated gadgets imported from countries such as the United States.
''The Americans can supply anything but I am very focussed. We should make our own military equipment,'' he told reporters when asked if the improvement of relations with the United States would result in that country emerging as a major supplier of military goods.
Acknowledging that the process of building capacity within the country could be a slow one, he said the IAF was ready for this but would not compromise on quality under any circumstances.
As part of the efforts of the Air Force to develop skills and infrastructure within the country, Air Chief Marshal Krishnaswamy said he had proposed to the central government, the setting up of an air force engineering college, preferably located at Bangalore.
Observing that it was the ''moral duty'' of the Air Force to support aviation in the country, Air Chief Marshal Krishnaswamy said he had proposed that the IAF share its resources, including airfields and airspace, with the civilian sector.
''We have been talking with the civil aviation authorities and there has been a lot of progress.''
Expressing the opinion that the country had some fine facilities for fabrication and engineering, he said some of the very good products that had been manufactured in the recent past included the light combat aircraft, Tejas, the advanced light helicopter, Dhruv, and the intermediate jet trainer (IJT).
Bureau Report
''The Americans can supply anything but I am very focussed. We should make our own military equipment,'' he told reporters when asked if the improvement of relations with the United States would result in that country emerging as a major supplier of military goods.
Acknowledging that the process of building capacity within the country could be a slow one, he said the IAF was ready for this but would not compromise on quality under any circumstances.
As part of the efforts of the Air Force to develop skills and infrastructure within the country, Air Chief Marshal Krishnaswamy said he had proposed to the central government, the setting up of an air force engineering college, preferably located at Bangalore.
Observing that it was the ''moral duty'' of the Air Force to support aviation in the country, Air Chief Marshal Krishnaswamy said he had proposed that the IAF share its resources, including airfields and airspace, with the civilian sector.
''We have been talking with the civil aviation authorities and there has been a lot of progress.''
Expressing the opinion that the country had some fine facilities for fabrication and engineering, he said some of the very good products that had been manufactured in the recent past included the light combat aircraft, Tejas, the advanced light helicopter, Dhruv, and the intermediate jet trainer (IJT).
Bureau Report