Hyderabad: Adapt to changing warfare, Rajnath tells newly commissioned IAF officers

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged newly commissioned IAF officers to adapt to evolving warfare technologies, including drones and satellite systems. Reviewing the AFA graduation parade, he stressed innovation, vigilance and continuous learning while commissioning the first NDA-trained women cadets.

Hyderabad: Observing that today’s warfare underwent major changes, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged the newly commissioned IAF officers to adopt, adapt and amend, if required, the new war systems and strategies.

Stating that earlier there were two vectors – soldiers and equipment, Rajnath Singh said in today’s war situation the enemy is not visible as radars, satellites, drones and robotics among other systems are being deployed.

---

“Today, a scenario of controlling adversaries traffic and the CCTVs systems has also emerged,” he said.

The Defence Minister reviewed the Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) of 217 Course held at Air Force Academy (AFA) Dundigal here.

The CGP marked the commissioning of the first batch of women cadets from the National Defence Academy (NDA), Pune, who passed out on May 30, 2025 and joined AFA for branch specific training.

Rajnath Singh, who was the reviewing officer for the parade, told the newly commissioned officers to be always aware and prepare for any challenges and recalibrate their response depending on the situation.

As much hard and smart work, the Defence Minister urged the officers to gain brilliance.

Smart work, he said, only smart nations are making their place in the technology sector.

“Earlier, powerful nations used to have a decisive edge in every situation. But now, even small nations are achieving decisive edge with new lethal weapons and tactics,” he said, adding that every war across the world should be a learning school.

Stating that IAF has been a source of inspiration for crores of people in the country, he urged the newly commissioned officers to carry forward the legacy of IAF officer Shubhanshu Shukla who was part of the International Space Station team.

The event, marked by military precision, commemorated the successful completion of the pre-commissioning training of flight cadets across various branches of the IAF.

During the ceremony, the Defence Minister conferred the ‘President’s Commission’ to the graduating trainees. The ceremony included presentation of ‘Wings’ and ‘Brevets’ upon successful completion of training to the flight cadets of the IAF, officers and trainees of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The Defence Minister presented ‘President’s Plaque as well as the ‘Sword of Honour’ to Ashish Kumar Yadav, flying officer from flying branch, for standing first in the order of merit. He also presented the ‘President’s Plaque’ to Divyanshi Singh and Ekta Gupta for standing first in the overall order of merit in ground duty and navigation branches respectively.

Earlier, an air display by the Akash Ganga and Air Warrior Drill Team (AWDT) marked the beginning of the event.

Interestingly, this time too, IAF Chief Air Marshal, AP Singh led the fly-past formation. The fly past showcased four types of trainer aircraft viz. Pilatus PC-7 MklI, Hawk, Kiran and Chetak aircraft. Aerial displays by SU-30 MKI, Sarang helicopter display team and Suryakiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) were major attractions of the ceremony.