Slow Revamp

The latest blow to the IAF is the abandonment of a two-year-old plan to produce single-engine fighters in large numbers indigenously with foreign collaboration under the ‘Make in India’ initiative

- Joseph Noronha

IN THE RECENT PAST, HOPES OF THE INDIAN AIR FORCE (IAF) of arresting the precipitous drop in the strength of its combat fleet have been dashed yet again. The service has long been assured that “action is in hand” to attain its sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons by 2032, but achievement of that goal now appears impossible. As is well known, the figure of 42 combat squadrons, each consisting of 18 to 20 aircraft, is the assessed minimum the IAF requires to engage China and Pakistan in a putative two-front conflict. Even as the IAF’s numbers plunge, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of China is rapidly expanding and modernising. The Pakistan Air Force is also upgrading and at some point in time, could conceivably cross the IAF’s strength numerically, though the IAF would continue to enjoy a qualitative edge.

The latest blow to the IAF’s punch is the apparent abandonment by the government of a two-year-old plan to produce single-engine fighters in large numbers indigenously with foreign collaboration under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The frontrunners were Lockheed Martin of the United States with the F-16 Block 70 and Saab of Sweden with its JAS 39 Gripen E. However, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) apparently wants to expand the competition to twin-engine jets, including Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, since the F-18E variant is a strong contender for the Indian Navy’s impending contract for 57 carrier-based fighters. The IAF is reportedly struggling to formulate an approach in line with the MoD’s sudden change of heart which has more to do with politics than logic or operational imperatives.

STATE OF PLAY