Aero India: Air Chief Marshal A P Singh And Army Chief Dwivedi Take Sortie In Tejas

The performance by the top brasses was the prelude to the biannual event, which commences on Monday and will continue till February 14.

Bengaluru:Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Sunday set the tone for the grand Aero India-2025 by flying in the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas here at Yelahanka based Air Force Station. The performance by the top brasses was the prelude to the biannual event, which commences on Monday and will continue till February 14.

All eyes were glued to the sky as the Air Chief Marshal flew the metal bird with the Army Chief. After the successful sortie, General Dwivedi termed the experience as the best moment in his life. For the Army Chief, the experience was such that he called the Air Chief Marshal his guru and even regretted why he did not opt for the Indian Air Force.

"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.

Stating that he enjoyed the sortie as it carried a great challenge, the Army Chief 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."

LCA Tejas is an Indian combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy.