DEPLETING STRENGTH

Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence has noted IAF's squadron strength dropping to 30. “Make in India” and involving the private sector should be considered to secure our borders

-  Praful Bakshi

IT is an unchallenged dictum during war that the success of any fighting service, whether on land, sea or air, depends largely on its capability to effectively attack the enemy, alongside a successful defensive mechanism.

India is currently facing a combined threat on the east and North East by China and in the west by Pakistan. This, along with a Parliamentary Committee report that the fighting strength of the IAF fighter squadrons had dropped from 42 to 30 is ominous. The report stated that this situation developed due to the phasing out of old fighter aircraft, along with a serious lack of capability to indigenously manufacture them. In the absence of timely replacement of these important fighting machines, this problem has become more worrisome.

The strength and fighting capability of any air force is determined mostly by the battle capabilities of its fighter squadrons. The decrease in the IAF fighter squadron strength by 12 spells a serious threat. This would create a difficult situation for ground forces needing the fighter support. The air defence sector too would be exposed to unwelcome danger from attacking enemy aircraft and missiles.

Also, enemy airfields and other strategic locations would no longer be under our threat because of our missing fighter aircraft, allowing the adversary air superiority. This would, naturally, be a serious threat to our national security.

Aviation, especially military aviation, is a very costly and technology intensive a sector, with the involvement of industrial, technical and scientific support systems. This aspect has to be supported by right defence policies and doctrines to get a meaningful outcome. Right from 1947 onwards, there was progress in some aspects, but this was not sufficient to support a modern military aviation field.