Concerned over adversaries increasing air forces at rapid pace: IAF chief referring to Pakistan, China

New Delhi: IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh on Tuesday said "we have our concerns" over the northern as well as the western adversaries increasing their air forces at a "very rapid pace".

The reference to Pakistan and China was made by the IAF chief in an address delivered at the 21st Subroto Mukherjee Seminar here.

"As far as China is concerned, it is not just the numbers, even the technology is growing at a very rapid pace...we just saw.. the recent flight of the new generation fighter which they have pulled out, the stealth fighter," he said.

The IAF chief underlined that if India's vision is to become a developed country, "a country to reckon with, to find a place in the world in 2047, then I think the aerospace sector will be a major contributor towards that".

"And of course defence is another sector, which requires to develop...we need to be powerful enough to be able to deter our adversaries so that we can concentrate on our progress and growth," said Air Chief Marshal Singh.

"We have our concerns from the northern as well as the western adversary...both of them are increasing their air forces at a very rapid pace, whether it is combat platform, enablers, systems, whether it is networking, whether it is radars... they are growing at a very rapid pace," he added.

The seminar on 'Atmanirbharta in Aerospace: Way Ahead' was hosted by think-tank Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) in collaboration with SIDM India.

In his address, while he underlined the need to achieve 'Atmanirbharta' in the sector, Air Chief Marshal Singh, however, said, "We need to identify how do we get on to that 'Atmanirbhar' track." "We all understand that 'Atmanirbharta' cannot be achieved overnight..it is a slow process, it is a painful process," the IAF chief said.

"But are we in mission mode towards it... I don't see that energy," he rued. Air Chief Marshal Singh said there was a "need to identify how do we get on to that 'Atmanirbhar' track".

"I think the only way to do it is parallel processing. It has to be a parallel approach, what do I identify as my next R&D target, some low-hanging fruits," he said.

The IAF chief further said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had alluded to the vision of becoming 'Atmanirbhar' while launching the C-295 aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara, where he had mentioned that "defence and aerospace sectors will be the two important pillars" for making India 'Atmanirbhar'.

He said the Indian Air Force as the primary stake holder in these sectors has always been at the forefront and investing heavily into 'Atmanirbharta'.

Some of the steps taken by the IAF include "Nodal Tech Centres in BRDs (Base Repair Depots)", responsible for indigenisation of almost 50,000 lines in conjunction with the MSMEs.

"We have already awarded numerous contracts under Mehar Baba-I scheme and many more in iDEX (Information on Innovations for Defence Excellence) and ADITI (Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX ) schemes," he added.

Various MSMEs are involved in space challenges floated by the IAF and "I am very hopeful of their prospects", the IAF chief said.

"A specialised directorate -- Directorate of Aerospace Design has been raised at the Air HQ to coordinate and liaise with external agencies particularly private players on niche and futuristic aerospace technology... As part of our major multilateral Exercise Tarang Shakti 2024, we also organised def expos on the sidelines to give visibility to the growing prowess of the Indian industry," he added.

The IAF chief, however, underlined that "R&D loses its relevance in case it is not able to meet timelines".

A "greater leeway" should be available to researchers, there may be failures, what is important is that "we learn from them and move on", he said.