The number of fighter planes in service with the Indian Air Force is set to hit a historic low in the next two months, and there is nothing at hand to plug the hole.
Number of fighter squadrons may drop to 28.5 in July
NEW DELHI: The number of fighter planes in service with the Indian Air Force is set to hit a historic low in the next two months, and there is nothing at hand to plug the hole, say IAF officers.
According to latest estimates, the total number of active fighter squadrons would fall to 28.5 in July. In the months following July, that figure could remain constant or drop by another couple of squadrons. At its peak, the force was sanctioned a fighter squadron strength of 39.5, against a projected requirement of 45. Each squadron optimally comprises 20 fighters.
The IAF top brass is worried about the uncertainty over the purchase of 126 multi-role combat aircraft, which would have become the mainstay of the force. The Request for Proposal (RFP) for these fighters, first planned in 2001, is still to be issued, and there are no political indications of “urgency in the process”, said an IAF source.
The delay is being blamed on the complex ‘life-cycle cost’ that the government wants to adopt for buying new fighters. The defence ministry wants to calculate the ‘life-cycle cost’ of a fighter instead of its off-the-shelf cost.
The concept is widely used by modern militaries, but in India there is still no agreement on how to calculate the life-cycle cost of a complex military system that is expected to be in service for five decades.
Worse, sources say, the government is not showing a willingness to take major defence purchase decisions, ostensibly because it does not want to afford the opposition any opportunity to question the usefulness of such deals during election campaigns. The UPA government does not seem comfortable about pushing through the $7 billion (approximately Rs30,000 crore) fighter contract, and would rather leave the matter to follow a natural course.
The shortage of fighters is not “going to be closed by the quicker induction of Sukhois”, said another IAF officer. The production of Sukhoi 30MKIs in India is being stepped up, and the country is looking to acquire 40 Sukhois from Russia as a quick fix. But such emergency deliveries would only arrive a few years down the line and could become a patchwork at best.
Over the past months, the IAF has been steadily retiring MiG-27 fighters, the entire MiG-25 strategic reconnaissance fleet, and the MiG-23 fleet. “The number of aircraft being retired is more than the number joining service,” said an IAF source.
“War readiness would improve sometime early next year when force multipliers such as the AWACS join in,” said a senior IAF officer. Though that would not raise the number of fighters, it would enhance the IAF’s performance.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}