India, Aug. 22 -- Less than two months after retirement as the Indian Air Force's vice chief, Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor has spoken about the indigenous Tejas fighter jet project, questioning the relevance of its Mk-2 prototype in a frontline role when it starts entering service in significant numbers in the 2030s.

In an interview with NDTV, Kapoor gave a brief response on whether it would be reasonable to have a fourth generation aircraft in 2035, with countries like China having moved up sixth generation protoypes of fighter jets. "No, operationally, definitely no," the Air Marshal said.

Kapoor further slammed the delay by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in building the Tejas fighters, according to the same report, while also raisi...