JOIN USEvery two years, when Aero India descends on the salubrious climes of Bengaluru, a clamour goes up regarding the state of the IAF’s depleting combat strength; the scene is no different this year too. It’s time to take stock of the ‘wish list’ of the IAF.
First of all, the countrymen must rest assured that the IAF is a potent fighting machine whose professionalism is respected by our adversaries who know that if any service can carry the fight deep into their homeland, it is the IAF. Certainly there are issues that need to be addressed to make up for the planned phase outs, and heading the list is the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), the lack of which has got the planners worried; this has been highlighted by the Standing Committee on Defence of the 15th Lok Sabha also.
The delay has resulted in the sky-rocketing of its cost due inflation and a depreciating Rupee. It has made Marcel Dassault, the manufacturer of the Rafale, worried resulting in the aircraft making a re-appearance in Aero India 2015.
The strike fleet is getting a new punch with upgraded MiG 27s and with the Mirage-2000 project underway. The Mig-29 too is getting lethal capability with new radar, air to air refueling, advanced avionics and a glass cockpit. The three Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) have to be supplemented quickly with the two more that have been sanctioned. The six IL-78 Flight Refueling Aircraft have extended the reach of the IAF fighter fleet but the remaining six, for which the Airbus 330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) has been selected, need to be inducted soon; their acquisition is vital to cater for the new MMRCAs of the IAF and the MiG-29Ks of the Navy.
The transport fleet is sitting pretty with its ten C-17 heavy transport aircraft that carry a payload of 70 tonnes. The C-130 Super Hercules has galvanized operations of the Special Forces; the present six have to be augmented with six more, the contract for which has been signed. With the placement of the Airbus 330 MRTT and the additional C-130s at Panagarh, our eastern flank would be heavily buttressed with airlift capability. The work horse of the IAF’s transport fleet, the An-32, is undergoing overhaul in Ukraine under which 40 aircraft would be upgraded abroad and the remaining 60 in Kanpur.
It is understood that, due to the recent upheavals in Ukraine, some glitches have occurred in contract execution in Kanpur; this needs to be addressed quickly. The Avro replacement project, for which the IAF has proposed a novel method to get the private sector into the aviation manufacturing sector, has hit a road block. The project has encountered a single vendor situation, the Tata-Airbus combine becoming the sole vendor. It is understood that the IAF has been asked to re-study the specifics of the proposal once again.
If the proposal falls through or gets re-tendered, it would indeed be a pity and a big blow to the process of starting a home grown aviation industry. The Multi-role Transport Aircraft (MTA) joint venture with the Russians has yet to take off. The plan is indeed noble, for that would enable a 20 tonne payload aircraft to enter the mid-size airlift segment. The IL-76 would continue to soldier on for atleast a decade plus.
The Rotary Wing fleet of the IAF is sitting pretty with the addition of eighty Mi-17V5s. The heavy lift Mi-26 will be replaced with 15 Chinooks while the acquisition of 22 Apache attack helicopters will add a lethal punch to the helicopter fleet; the contracts for both are hopefully in the final stages. The replacement of Chetak/Cheetah helicopters has had many misfires, with two fully completed evaluations rejected by MoD. As announced by the Ministry, a fresh ‘Make in India’ thrust would be given to the acquisition process, which cannot come a day soon due the extended life on which these helicopters are operating.
The IAF has certain ‘unglamorous’ arms that, though vitally important from the view point of operations, do not come into limelight. Air defence is as vital as the flying element and the 1980s vintage SAM-III Pechoras need to be replaced quickly. The Akash Surface to Air Missile (SAM) developed by the DRDO, though delayed, has luckily met IAF’s requirements; in fact, the IAF has proposed that the Short Range SAM (SRSAM) project being executed alongwith MBDA of France be shelved as Akash fits the slot for SRSAM also. The OSA-AK point defence SAM system and IGLA shoulder fired missile are also obsolescent and crying for replacement.
A combatant is as good as the training imparted to him. While all new flying acquisitions are coming with simulators as part of the package, the basic trainer aircraft is generating much controversy. After the grounding of HAL made HPT-32 due a host of fatal crashes, IAF training schedules were severely curtailed as the basic flying training load had to be taken up by Kiran jet trainers. The seventy five PC-7 Pilatus trainers inducted from Switzerland have proved to be very successful and another 106 are required to complete the requirement. One just hopes that no new type is brought in so that there is only one ab initio trainer to ensure standardization.
Air power is the weapon of choice for a politician due its attributes of reach, flexibility, mobility and fire power. The availability of precision guided munitions ensures that collateral damage is kept to a minimum. The IAF is the nation’s sword arm – it is the Government’s duty to ensure that it is kept fighting fit with the necessary equipment, as in war there is no runner-up.
AVM Manmohan Bahadur VM (retd)
(The author, a retired Air Vice Marshal, is a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi; His views are personal).