Aero India: Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and Army Chief Dwivedi take sortie in Tejas

Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and Army Chief Dwivedi take sortie in Tejas

Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi inaugurated Aero India 2025 on Sunday by flying the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas at the Yelahanka Air Force Station.

Their display marked the beginning of the biannual event, which will start on Monday and run until February 14.

The audience watched in awe as the Air Chief Marshal piloted the aircraft with the Army Chief.

After completing the successful sortie, General Dwivedi referred to the experience as the most unforgettable moment of his life.

"It was the best moment in my life and as you are aware that the Air Chief Marshal is my course mate. We have been together from the NDA (National Defence Academy) days. I wish he had met me earlier and I would definitely have changed my option to the Air Force. As I have said earlier, also if I had gone to the Air Force, I would have been fighter pilot," General Dwivedi told reporters.

"And I must say that from today onwards, the Air Chief Marshal AP Singh is my guru because he made me do lot of roles and other activities while in the sky," he added.

The Army Chief expressed that he thoroughly enjoyed the sortie, noting the great challenge it presented. He said, "I am very much grateful to the IAF and I must admire the kind of a challenge the pilots of the IAF take and it takes a great synergetic approach from all of us and I am sure that it is a good start for the Aero India-2025." The LCA Tejas is an Indian-made combat aircraft developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy.