Is Russia's Economy Starting to Crack? And More.

Situation Room 2.17.2025: Indian Airshow Spotlights Air Power Woes; Battles Continue in the Congo. Indian Airshow Spotlights Air Power Woes. Next up, we tr

Simon Whistler February 25, 2026

Situation Room 2.17.2025: Indian Airshow Spotlights Air Power Woes; Battles Continue in the Congo. Indian Airshow Spotlights Air Power Woes. Next up, we travel to the city of Bengaluru in south India, where a major biennial airshow has attracted global attention.

Key Takeaways

Situation Room 2.17.2025: Indian Airshow Spotlights Air Power Woes; Battles Continue in the Congo.
Running from February the tenth to the fourteenth, the fifteenth edition of the Aero India airshow has mostly made headlines because of a highly symbolic confrontation, with two rival stealth fighters—America’s F-35.
The Tejas is a supersonic, fourth-generation combat aircraft, relatively advanced, with solid specs, formidable armament, and a design that’s expected to be built with over seventy percent indigenously machined parts within the next few years.
Now, the reason that we’ve chosen to highlight this story isn’t simply to enjoy a bit of schadenfreude, as this military leader berates a defense contractor right in front of that defense contractor’s own hype team.
The article is grounded strictly in the source video script and listed references.

Key Developments

Running from February the tenth to the fourteenth, the fifteenth edition of the Aero India airshow has mostly made headlines because of a highly symbolic confrontation, with two rival stealth fighters—America’s F-35 Lightning and Russia’s Su-57 Felon—coming face-to-face on the tarmac for the very first time. But underneath the hype and aviation geekery of Aero India, there’s a very different story playing out behind the scenes, as setbacks within India’s homegrown aviation industry may have major implications for the nation’s strategic alignment. On the second day of the airshow, the eleventh of February, an Indian news outlet called National Defence captured an incident on video as it happened, involving the nation’s Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh—basically, the seniormost officer of the Indian Air Force. Singh was visiting a display at the airshow, joined by representatives of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited or HAL, India’s largest and most important aerospace defense company—and Singh was letting HAL’s representatives know about the Indian government’s deep displeasure with their work. Now, just a little bit of critical background before we go further, so that we can understand what’s going on here. HAL, the defense contractor, has been working on India’s indigenously produced jet fighter, the Tejas, for well over two decades now, and it has been slow going.

Strategic Implications

The Tejas is a supersonic, fourth-generation combat aircraft, relatively advanced, with solid specs, formidable armament, and a design that’s expected to be built with over seventy percent indigenously machined parts within the next few years. All told, it’s a very important project for India, with everything from national pride, to national defense, to the evolution of its military-industrial complex, all on the line. But, again, it has been slow going; manufacturing began all the way back in 2001, yet there are just thirty-five in service with the Indian Air Force today. And when the leader of the Indian Air Force had his hot-mic moment at the air show, his commentary was not complimentary of the design process so far. Quoting his translated remarks here: “At the moment I am just not confident of HAL. I was promised that when I come here in February I will see 11 [Mark]1As ready, minus the engines.

Risk and Uncertainty

Not a single one is ready. Not impressed.” Singh was referencing the Mark 1A variant of the Tejas aircraft, expected to integrate new and advanced radar, jamming technology, and electronic countermeasures. India expects to procure no fewer than 170 Mark 1As, and while supply-chain issues from the company building the Mark 1A’s engine, General Electric, have been expected to slow down deliveries, it’s up to HAL to actually build the rest of the aircraft. So, here’s the leader of the Indian Air Force, openly rebuking HAL for not having done so, and having presented eleven fewer copies of the Mark 1A than the grand total of eleven that the Indian Air Force was promised. As Singh berated HAL, their representatives looked on without defense. The following day, HAL’s leader reiterated promises that the aircraft will be ready soon, but again, without a clear date in mind.

Outlook

Now, the reason that we’ve chosen to highlight this story isn’t simply to enjoy a bit of schadenfreude, as this military leader berates a defense contractor right in front of that defense contractor’s own hype team. Nor is it simply an attempt to point out problems with India’s force readiness—although, it’s certainly worth noting that while the Indian Air Force expects to have forty-two squadrons of fighter jets at its disposal, it currently flies only thirty-one squadrons, at a moment of ongoing tension with both Pakistan and China. Instead, we’re going to talk about the big picture, as it relates to India’s status as a rising global power—because, make no mistake, India is very much a rising power on the world stage. Let’s start with the state of India’s defense-industrial complex, because while other comments from India’s defense production secretary, Sanjeev Kumar, indicated that recently stabilized production lines at HAL and General Electric will hopefully lead to the procurement of one to two dozen Tejas aircraft in the next fiscal year, the Tejas story is but a symptom of a broader problem. India has been working to develop a homegrown defense industry for decades, moving away from a reliance on mostly Soviet and later Russian kit, and to an extent, it’s been successful. India now fields over a hundred of its own Arjun main battle tanks, its first move away from the Soviet T-series, and it’s reached similar levels of success with an indigenously developed multiple-rocket launcher, an attack helicopter, and even its first indigenously produced aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant.

FAQ

What is the central development in Is Russia’s Economy Starting to Crack? And More.?

Situation Room 2.17.2025: Indian Airshow Spotlights Air Power Woes; Battles Continue in the Congo. Not only that, but India knows just how diminished Russia’s defense-industrial capacity has been in recent years, meaning that it would be taking a major gamble in asking Russia to fill production quotas on hardware that Russia struggles to produce fast enough for itself.

Is Russia's Economy Starting to Crack? And More.

Key Takeaways

Key Developments

Strategic Implications

Risk and Uncertainty

Outlook

FAQ

What is the central development in Is Russia’s Economy Starting to Crack? And More.?

What remains uncertain right now?

Why does this matter strategically?

What indicators should observers monitor next?

Sources

Key Takeaways

Key Developments

Strategic Implications

Risk and Uncertainty

Outlook

Related Coverage

FAQ

What is the central development in Is Russia’s Economy Starting to Crack? And More.?

What remains uncertain right now?

Why does this matter strategically?

What indicators should observers monitor next?

Sources