New Delhi:

Efforts are underway in every field to make the country a self-reliant India. Meanwhile, while addressing a CAPS event held in Delhi on Friday, Air Force Deputy Chief Air Marshal AP Singh said that self-reliance cannot be at the cost of the nation's defense. The nation's defense is first and foremost.

Defence of the nation comes first and if the Indian Air Force or Indian forces have to ride on this self-reliance, it is only possible when everyone from DRDO to DPSUs and private industry hold hands and take us on that path and do not let us deviate from that path. Because when it comes to national defence, we will be compelled to deviate from our path if we do not get the things that we need or the kind of systems and weapons that are necessary to survive in today's world. So my humble request to all of us is that let's make India a system where we can help each other in achieving the goals which are our goals.

Russia-Ukraine war was also mentioned
The Vice Chief of the Air Force referred to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, which is quite wide in scope. He said that what is happening today is an excellent example of what kind of challenges we may face in future conflicts. He said that this conflict has also demonstrated the integration of various forces in the areas of air, land, sea, cyber, information, space and also how they are united to achieve the goal. I am sure that everyone present here, including my friends from other services, will agree that the air sector has clearly emerged as a unique 'trans-domain' link and a strong force in all areas, which is a strong way for multi-domain use of force.

Air Marshal Singh emphasised that the biggest lesson we have learnt from today's geopolitics is to be self-reliant. As the saying goes, there are no permanent enemies or permanent friends, there are only permanent interests. So 'self-reliance' is not just a word, it is something we need to put our heart and soul into and ensure that all the technologies and weapons we are talking about are developed and manufactured in India, so that we are not dependent on any external agency, which may desert us or stop the flow of weapons into our country and put us in trouble when the time comes.