It is a widely endorsed fact that aerospace is the domain of the future and the one who controls it, will also control the planet. As of 2022, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has a combined strength of 30 squadrons. A total of six Mig-21 Bison squadrons will be retired by 2025. With the addition of one Rafale squadron, three Sukhoi30MKI squadrons, and two LCA-Tejas Mark-1 squadrons this year, the IAF will somehow be able to make up its strength for the retiring jets and maintain up to 30 combat jet squadrons (with no addition of any additional squadrons from the current levels). An additional squadron of Jaguar deep penetration strike aircraft will also retire by 2027, thus bringing down the combined strength to 29 squadrons. So, there will be a total shortfall of 13 combat squadrons by 2030, if additional fighter jets are not ordered immediately.
Meanwhile, as the deal to procure 114 foreign fighter jets (dubbed as MMRCA 2.0) progresses, simultaneous efforts are also being made towards acquisition of indigenous fighter aircrafts for filling up the gaps. Technology intensive airpower requires faster replacement of assets due to quicker obsolescence. While IAF has a Plan-B to fight with what it has, if forced into conflict, but numbers are clearly not adequate to fully execute an air campaign in a two-front scenario. It is imperative of time that the IAF quickly rebuild the squadron strength and acquire modern fighters that are as good or better than the adversaries. Developing indigenous aircraft is critical for India to become a global power. China has already moved way ahead. The Light Combat AircraftTejas and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) are the main two indigenous combat aircraft projects and it is important to continuously monitor their progress.
ATMANIRBHARTA IN TURBOFAN TECHNOLOGY
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Lessons From Gaza And Lebanon
The ongoing war, loosely called the Gaza War, is actually being fought in two different loosely connected segments; against the Hamas with a spill off in the West Bank and East Jerusalem areas against Palestinian factions and against the Hezbollah in Lebanon with a spill off in Syria. Treating Israel-Hamas War and the Lebanon War as separate entities, RAJ MEHTA explains the lessons from these wars
POSITIVE STEPS TOWARDS POTENTIAL REGIONAL COOPERATION
It has been a whirlwind of diplomatic activity for India recently. India participated in both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO) summit that took place in Islamabad on October 15-16, and the 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, Russia, from October 2224, 2024. These back-to-back summits within a short span of time underscore India's active role in shaping regional and global diplomacy, balancing national interests with multilateral cooperation
THE EAGLE'S EYE TEJAS MK-II RADAR PIERCES VEIL OF THE SKY
The Tejas Mk-II, featuring DRDO's GaN-based Uttam AESA radar, marks a major leap in India's defence, enhancing range, precision, and multi-target tracking capabilities, highlights GIRISH LINGANNA
PRIME MOVER
The indigenously developed Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) has received a boost with its first export order from the Kingdom of Morocco
TRANSFORMATIONAL INDUCTION
The GA-ASI MQ-9B will dramatically enhance the ISR and precision strike capabilities of the Indian armed forces
TACAN PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
Navigation systems have evolved significantly since the Viking era, with Tactical Air Navigation TACAN) now widely used for air and sea travel. Post-World War Il, reliable systems became essential for safety and efficiency, as highlighted by DR. SUJAN KUMAR SARASWATI, in this article on TACAN’s operational principles.
AIRBORNE TRACKER
Indigenous efforts towards AEW&C and AWACS platforms need to be stepped up even as international programmes extend the current state-of-the-art for such aircraft, highlights
AFFORDABLE LETHALITY THE INDIAN DILEMMA
India's defence dilemma is now being complicated by the lessons learnt in the Ukraine and Gaza wars because these conflicts are reshaping the way wars are fought in the modern world.
FROM IMPORTS TO SELF-RELIANCE IN ARMS
Self-reliance in Defence Production needs new ideas, new definitions _es and an appropriate methodology, argues AMIT COWSHISH
"THE INDIAN AIR FORCE IS WORKING HARD TO REMAIN A CREDIBLE AIR FORCE"
Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 21, 1984, Air Chief Marshal AMAR PREET SINGH PVSM AVSM took over as the 28th Air Chief of India on September 30, 2024.
