‘Indian Navy’s F-35 will float in sea’: Rajnath refers to US fighter jets at launch

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the geo-strategic situation in the region to the west of the country has the ability to directly influence India's economic development and flagged the role of the Navy as not just limited to protecting the seas but also acting as a major pillar of economic security.

Navy's such role assumes significance as India's energy requirements such as oil and natural gas depend on the security of the region.

Indirectly referring to the US, he said one country has F-35 (fifth-generation fighter jet) flying in the air while the Indian Navy’s F-35 warship, INS Udaygiri, sails on the sea with "Made in India" technology.

INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, both modern stealth frigates, were commissioned by the Indian Navy on Tuesday and Singh participated in the ceremony here.

On the Pahalgam terror attack, the minister said the country gave an effective and precise response through 'Operation Sindoor', a cross-border military offensive targeting terror havens in Pakistan.

After commissioning the two multi-mission stealth frigates, here at the Eastern Naval Command, Singh said India never believes in aggressive expansionism and that the whole world knows that it never attacked any country first.