Vayushakti-26 Is Modi's Aatmanirbhar Bharat Moment

Today, above Pokhran, India's homegrown defence ecosystem must prove it has substance behind the slogan.

There is something deliberate about choosing Pokhran. The same desert range where India twice detonated nuclear devices will today host Exercise Vayushakti-26, the Indian Air Force’s largest firepower demonstration in years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has spent a decade building the rhetorical architecture of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and today, the defence ecosystem is being asked to prove it has substance behind the slogan.

The scale is designed to command attention. According to the Ministry of Defence, over 120 aircraft will participate, including 77 frontline fighters and 43 helicopters, operating across day, dusk, and night scenarios. But the headline numbers matter less than what is flying within them. For the first time at a Vayushakti exercise, indigenous platforms are scheduled to hold centre stage rather than play supporting roles alongside imported hardware.

IAF carries out full dress rehearsal for Vayushakti Exercise at Pokharan range

Murmu flies sortie in LCH 'Prachand' near India-Pak border in Jaisalmer

President Murmu to take sortie in light combat helicopter Prachand on Friday

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President Droupadi Murmu’s decision to fly as co-pilot in the Light Combat Helicopter Prachand and conduct an aerial survey of the exercise area over Jaisalmer’s border airspace is more than ceremonial. It places the head of state inside the most visible symbol of India’s homegrown rotary-wing capability, signalling that the highest office is prepared to stake its credibility on what Indian engineering has produced.

What Indigenous Now Means on the Battlefield

The weapon systems lined up at Vayushakti-26 deserve scrutiny beyond their names. The Akash surface-to-air missile system, developed by the DRDO with a range of........

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