Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Thursday raised serious concerns over persistent delays in defence projects, highlighting the systemic issue of unrealistic timelines and their impact on operational readiness.

During his address at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025, the IAF chief pointed at the recurring pattern of delays in project execution and criticised the practice of committing to unachievable deadlines. His remarks come in the context of the reported ongoing challenges with projects like the delivery of the aircraft, which has faced criticism for failing to meet the timeline.

“Timelines are a big issue... Not a single project that I can think of has been completed on time. This is something that we have to look at,” Singh stated, adding, “Why should we promise something that cannot be achieved? While signing the contract itself, sometimes we are sure that it is not going to come up. But we just sign the contract. Then the process gets vitiated.”