New Delhi: Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, on May 29, 2025 (Thursday), expressed deep concern over chronic delays plaguing defence projects, attributing the issue to unrealistic timelines that compromise operational preparedness.
Speaking at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025, Singh criticised the trend of setting unachievable deadlines, pointing to repeated slippages in key programmes such as aircraft delivery schedules. His comments follow ongoing scrutiny of delays in projects like the Tejas.
“Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh says, “Timeline is a big issue. So, once a timeline is given, not a single project that I can think of has been completed on time. So this is something we have to look at,” Air Chief Marshal Singh was quoted as saying in an ANI report. He added, “Why should we promise something that cannot be achieved? While signing the contract itself, sometimes we are sure that it is not going to come up. But we just sign the contract. Then the process gets vitiated.”
Highlighting military achievements, Singh described Operation Sindoor — a targeted strike on nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir — as a landmark moment, ANI reported.
#WATCH | Delhi: Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh says, “Timeline is a big issue. So, once a timeline is given, not a single project that I can think of has been completed on time. So this is something we have to look at. Why should we promise something… pic.twitter.com/4aJxyuEcLx
— ANI (@ANI) May 29, 2025
“I must put on record, this Operation Sindoor that we’ve been talking about, it is a national victory. My thanks to all of you in India here… This was an operation executed in a very professional manner by everybody, all the agencies, all the forces; we all came together, and when truth is on your side, things happen automatically,” he said.
He reportedly emphasised the evolving nature of modern warfare, shaped by technological advancements, and called for trust to be preserved within all components of national defence.
“Trust for defence forces is intrinsic. Our default setting is trust… The very first mission that you’re flying, you have to trust each other because your life depends on somebody else,” he said.
Singh urged stakeholders, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, DRDO, and industry, to ensure they remain robust links in the national security chain.
“When we talk about a nation, all of us in these groups — the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, various agencies, industry, DRDO — all of us are links in a bigger chain. We all have to make sure that our group is not the weak group because of which this chain will break. And that is what is stressed: that if I am trying to be strong enough not to let this system break, everybody else is also trying equally to be strong enough, to be competent enough in that game or at least be aware of where the shortcomings lie and improve that system,” he said.
He also highlighted the clearance for private industry participation in the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project as a milestone.
“AMCA — advanced medium combat aircraft — has been cleared for even participation by private industry, which is a very big step, and that is the kind of confidence that the nation has in private industry today, and I’m sure this is going to pave the way to bigger things coming in the future,” Singh said.
Underlining the need for greater indigenisation in defence, the Air Chief remarked: “We cannot just talk about producing in India. We need to start designing and developing in India also… We need to have this trust between the forces and the industry continue, with open and forthright communication.”