Web Desk/AFP

ISLAMABAD:&nbsp;An Indian fighter jet crashed during a flying display at the Dubai Airshow on Friday, killing the pilot, a government statement said.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;The warplane executed a low roll before crashing in flames about 1.6 kilometres from the show site, an eyewitness told AFP. <div class="fr-embed instagram-embed" style="width: 50%; display: block; max-width: 600px;"><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRUU0q0DeK5/embed/captioned/?cr=1&v=14&wp=540&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com&rp=%2Farticles%2F2325#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A836545%2C%22ls%22%3A541%2C%22le%22%3A1479%7D" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="1107" scrolling="no" style="background: white; max-width: 540px; width: calc(100% - 2px); border-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219); box-shadow: none; display: block; margin: 0px 0px 12px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div>&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&quot;A Tejas fighter aircraft from India participating in today&#39;s flying display at the Dubai Airshow has crashed, resulting in the tragic death of the pilot,&quot; Dubai&#39;s state-run media office posted on X.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Videos circulating on social media showed the aircraft going down at speed and bursting into a ball of flames on impact as onlookers watched in shock.&nbsp;A plume of smoke billowed from the crash site as emergency vehicles sped towards it.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;The incident happened on the last day of the Middle East&#39;s biggest airshow, which features a flying display each afternoon.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Hundreds of people were watching from a grandstand, while the apron was packed with planes, helicopters and other hardware on static display. The Indian Air Force announced an inquiry into the accident.&nbsp;&quot;IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief,&quot; a statement said.<div class="fr-embed"><div> </div></div>It is believed to be the first crash in the history of the airshow, which dates back to 1986. Chronic issues with Tejas program The HAL Tejas light combat aircraft program has been beset by a series of chronic issues since its inception. It has faced prolonged delays, safety concerns, and quality issues. Its development alone took over three decades, with delays caused by supply chain disruptions, reliance &nbsp;on foreign engines like GE F404, and technical problems highlighted by accidents and safety incidents.&nbsp;The Indian government and auditors have criticized HAL for poor manufacturing quality, incomplete features and failure to meet deadline. It also faces organizational inefficiencies, slow decision-making, and dependency on foreign suppliers, which has hampered production and delivery. Oil leak controversy precedes crash Earlier in the week, a video circulated online showing ground crew placing a shopping bag beneath a Tejas aircraft to collect dripping fluid. Critics seized on the footage to question the fighter jet&#39;s reliability. it also triggered widespread mocking about Tejas&#39;s reliability across social media. Indian air force officials maintained that the aircraft continued its scheduled flight displays without technical malfunctions related to the alleged leak. Meanwhile, the Indian Ministry of Defence and the Press Information Bureau subsequently issued official statements claiming the oil leak was a&nbsp;&quot;false propaganda.&quot; Officials identified the fluid as water condensation, which they described as normal in humid conditions. Indian airforce officers spotted at Pakistani pavilion&nbsp; In a separate incident that generated widespread social media discussion, photos and videos showed Indian air force and navy officers visiting the Pakistan air force pavilion at the airshow. The images captured uniformed Indian personnel examining Pakistan&#39;s JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter jet on static display, taking photographs and engaging with Pakistani air force personnel about the aircraft&#39;s technical specifications and capabilities. Pakistani personnel reportedly offered the Indian delegation tea, a gesture observers noted carried symbolic weight following the&nbsp;2019 Balakot&nbsp;incident. After Indian air force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman was captured by Pakistan following the Balakot airstrikes that year, Pakistani officials famously offered him tea, footage of which became widely circulated. Several local news outlets in India and Pakistan reported the Indian officers at the Dubai airshow politely declined the tea, opting for water instead.

India

The aircraft is believed to be the Indian Tejas, India’s domestic light aircraft project  that has faced delays and technical setbacks since the 1980s.    

Indian fighter jet crashes at Dubai Airshow, killing pilot

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday praised a recent report submitted to the US Congress that credited Pakistan with &ldquo;military success&rdquo; in its four-day clash with India, saying the document had &ldquo;validated Pakistan&rsquo;s strength&rdquo; and the performance of its armed forces.&nbsp;&ldquo;This report has stamped confirmation on what our brave soldiers achieved,&rdquo; he told a gathering after laying the foundation stone of a Danish School in Azad Kashmir&rsquo;s Harri Ghel.&nbsp;Sharif said the congressional findings, which highlighted the effectiveness of Pakistan&rsquo;s use of modern defense systems during the confrontation, reflected the &ldquo;professional excellence&rdquo; of the country&rsquo;s forces.&nbsp;&ldquo;Our soldiers and our pilots earned Pakistan respect on the world stage,&rdquo; he said, adding that decisions taken by the country&rsquo;s civil and military leadership were &ldquo;fearless and timely.&rdquo;&nbsp;The report, submitted to the US Congress by Washington, China Economic and Security Review Commission, described Pakistan&rsquo;s performance in the four-day clash with India as a &ldquo;military success,&rdquo; stating that the confrontation &ldquo;showcased Chinese weaponry&rdquo; in active combat for the first time.&nbsp;It said Pakistan&rsquo;s use of systems such as the HQ-9 air-defense platform, PL-15 air-to-air missiles and J-10 fighter aircraft served as &ldquo;a real-world field experiment,&rdquo; adding that Pakistani forces downed several Indian aircraft, including Rafales, in engagements that later became &ldquo;a key selling point for Chinese defence exports.&rdquo;&nbsp;The prime minister said Pakistan must now extend its efforts from battlefield achievements to economic progress.&nbsp;&ldquo;After proving our military capabilities, the time has come to secure victories in the economic field,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Nations that do not develop economically cannot succeed.&rdquo;&nbsp;Sharif used the occasion to reaffirm Islamabad&rsquo;s commitment to the people of Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan will continue its moral, political and diplomatic support until the Kashmiris receive their rights,&rdquo; he said, expressing a confidence that &ldquo;one day, the children of occupied Kashmir will also study in Danish Schools.&rdquo;&nbsp;Highlighting the expansion of the Danish School network, Sharif said the project, initiated in Punjab, was now being extended to Azad Kashmir.&nbsp;He announced new campuses for Neelum Valley and forward Kahuta, describing the initiative as a mission to ensure equal access to high-quality education.&nbsp;&ldquo;This is the institution that will give poor and orphaned children the opportunity to become engineers, doctors and leaders,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The dream we saw for education is now becoming reality.&rdquo;&nbsp;The prime minister urged the new Azad Kashmir leadership to uphold strong governance standards and ensure better public services. &ldquo;The people of Azad Kashmir deserve the best facilities,&rdquo; he said.

Education

Talking about a recent report submitted to the US Congress crediting Pakistan’s “military success” over India, PM Shehbaz Sharif says it validates the nation’s strength and armed forces’ performance.

PM Sharif hails US report on Pakistan’s success, vows educational uplift

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday signed a $7 billion order for 97 domestically designed and built Tejas fighter jets as its air force retires its outgoing Russian MiG-21 jets after decades of use.&nbsp;The first Tejas jets <span style="color: rgb(31, 31, 31); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" id="isPasted">&mdash; meaning &quot;brilliance&quot; in Hindi <span style="color: rgb(31, 31, 31); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" id="isPasted">&mdash; were commissioned into the air force in 2016, with the latest commission for the fourth-generation version of the fighter, Mk-1A.&nbsp;India, one of the world&#39;s largest arms importers, has made the modernization of its forces a top priority and has made repeated pushes to boost local arms production.&nbsp;India&#39;s Ministry of Defense said it had &quot;signed a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for procurement of 97 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1A, including 68 fighters and 29 twin seaters&quot;.&nbsp;HAL is a government defense manufacturer.&nbsp;&quot;The delivery of these aircraft would commence during 2027-28 and be completed over a period of six years,&quot; the defense ministry added.&nbsp;New Delhi is eyeing threats from multiple nations, especially neighboring Pakistan. India fought a four-day conflict in May, their worst clash since 1999.&nbsp;Both sides claimed victory, each boasting of downing the other&#39;s fighter jets.&nbsp;The Tejas jet ordered is the &quot;most advanced variant of the indigenously designed and manufactured fighter aircraft&quot;, the defense ministry added, saying it will be &quot;a potent platform&quot; for the air force.&nbsp;India on Friday is to hold a flypast ceremony in a major air force base in Chandigarh, the final flight of their Soviet-era MiG-21s, in use since the 1960s.&nbsp;India also signed in April a multi-billion-dollar deal to purchase 26 Rafale fighter jets from France&#39;s Dassault Aviation.&nbsp;They will join 36 Rafale fighters already acquired.&nbsp;In August, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said India was working with a French company to develop and manufacture fighter jet engines in the country.&nbsp;This decade, India has opened an expansive helicopter factory, launched its first domestically made aircraft carrier, warships and submarines, and conducted a successful long-range hypersonic missile test.&nbsp;India&#39;s latest test was of an Agni-Prime missile with a 2,000-kilometer (1,242-mile) range on Wednesday <span style="color: rgb(31, 31, 31); font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" id="isPasted">&mdash; this time fitted onto a special railway-based system.

India, one of the world's largest arms importers, makes the modernization of its forces a top priority and repeatedly pushes to boost local arms production.

Articles tagged with "Indian fighter jets"

Indian fighter jet crashes at Dubai Airshow, killing pilot

PM Sharif hails US report on Pakistan’s success, vows educational uplift

India signs $7 bn deal for 97 domestically made fighter jets