Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh addresses the press conference on the 93rd Air Force Day celebrations in the national capital

Responding to Elon Musk's recent assertion that "drones are the future of warfare, manned aircraft are not," Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh on Friday, emphasised that manned platforms will continue to play a crucial role in combat operations in the coming future

The air chief notes that multiple advanced fighter programmes across the globe, often dubbed sixth generation projects such as the US Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) programme, are all being developed as manned aircraft

While acknowledging the growing role of unmanned systems, the IAF Chief underscored that these platforms would operate under the control of manned fighters. While acknowledging the growing role of unmanned systems, the IAF Chief underscored that these platforms would operate under the control of manned fighters. "There will be unmanned systems. But those unmanned systems have to work in collaboration with the manned system or have to be controlled by a man. So the relevance of fighters will remain in the years to come. Elon Musk is a businessman," he explained

The Air Chief also praised the performance of the Russian-made air defence system, calling it a "good weapon system", while hinting that more units could be inducted in the future

Further, he dismissed Pakistan's claims of shooting down Indian fighter jets during Operation Sindoor, calling them "Manohar Kahaniyan"