Missing AN-32, a warning signal

The Indian Air Force and its extended families in the country have suffered a tragic loss with the presumed crash of an AN-32 transport aircraft in the Bay of Bengal on Friday. The aircraft carried 29 people including IAF, army and navy personnel and civilians on their way from the Tambaram airbase to Port Blair. Since the wide and intensive search operations have not found any results till now, the unfortunate conclusion could only be that the aircraft has crashed. It is among the major peace time accidents for the IAF with a high toll of life. The aircraft probably faced adverse weather but that is not unusual in the area where it flew. Investigations have already started about the cause of the accident but any conclusions have to await the recovery and examination of the flight data recorder and other instruments. That depends on the recovery of the debris of the aircraft.

The incident raises uncomfortable questions about the safety of defence assets. The AN-32s have served as a reliable transport fleet for the IAF since 1984 and have proved their worth as a midsize carrier both in conflict situations and peace time operations. They were upgraded and refitted for an extended life till 2025 in Ukraine from where they were originally procured. But the performance of any aircraft depends on its maintenance. There are reports that the missing aircraft had developed some snags in the past few days though it was among those which were refurbished and serviced by the manufacturers. The AN-32 fleet had to be upgraded because its replacement aircraft are not available for the IAF. Replacement has to be done by procurement or manufacture of new aircraft. But procurement plans and procedures are tedious and time coming as seen in the case of the Rafale fighter and other military hardware. The project to develop a military transport aircraft (MTA) in collaboration with Russia, which was to replace the AN-32s, has been frozen now.

The plan existed from 2007 and some work has been done. But there is no good explanation for the lack of progress. Manufacture and procurement are certainly better than upgrade of old aircraft.

Two Dornier aircraft belonging to the Coast Guard and the navy had also been lost in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea last year in similar circumstances. Even after many months, the results of the investigations are not known. Public have a right to know how the mishaps occurred because they are national assets. The safety of defence personnel and
defence assets is important because the lives of people are involved and national security depends on it.