00:00We have 25 people in Pakistan.
00:02We have 50 people in China.
00:04Well, Mr. Ovaisi has a point.
00:06We have a sanctioned squadron A42.
00:09After the last 30 years, we are only working on 39.
00:12Now, how did we get here?
00:14The LCA Tejas was supposed to replace all of our MiG-21s on a one-to-one basis.
00:20So this was a very clear blueprint of acquisitions that had been put out.
00:24The LCA Tejas Mark 1, followed by the Mark 1A,
00:28then the Mark 2, and then finally the Amcar.
00:31Tejas is India's own indigenously-produced fighter jet.
00:33The project began in the 1980s and the first flight took off in 2001.
00:37However, over the years, the program has faced technical and logistical hurdles
00:40that have slowed down the delivery of the jets.
00:42Over the last 24-25 years, only two squadrons of the LCA have been delivered so far.
00:47According to reports, the Air Force may soon review the future of its aging Jaguar and MiG-29 fleets.
00:52With the MiG-21 already set to retire in September this year,
00:55how will the IAF fill this growing gap in strength?
00:57They are looking at possible imports of the Su-57, which is the fifth generation Russian fighter jet.
01:04It could also look at reopening the Su-30 MKI production line in India for another one or two more squadrons.
01:12And possibly, this is being debated again, Su-37, which is the final evolution of the Su-30 design,
01:20which the Russian Federation has introduced.
01:24Well, Mr. Obesi has got the correct picture.
01:28We are at a very small number of squadrons.
01:31In fact, the lowest since 1962.
01:33The silver lining on this dark cloud is the fact that now there is going to be an all-of-government approach
01:39to ensure that the numbers don't fall below 29 squadrons and to slowly bring up the numbers.
01:46The last one is the second one.
01:47You've got to be 17.
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