SHAPING THE IAF'S PROCUREMENT EFFORTS

AMIT GUPTA discusses what the IAF needs to procure from other countries and what it can produce domestically to counter a two-front threat

- AMIT GUPTA

India thought it had twenty years or more to match the Chinese challenge and its arms acquisitions and weapons production reflected this premise. Acquisitions were conducted in a leisurely manner and production was allowed to deliver new weapons at a glacial pace. Things have changed now. India faces a true two-front threat and events are threatening to boil over into a full-blown war along the IndiaChina border. In such a situation, the role of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be crucial since, of the three armed services, it is the only one that can move rapidly from the Chinese to the Pakistani border and, if India achieves air superiority over Pakistan, it would remove the pressure from the Indian Army, allowing the largest service to concentrate more fully on the challenge from China. The need for 42-45 squadrons is paramount as is the acquisition of equipment that would increase the lethality and capabilities of the IAF.

Pathologies

There have been discernible patterns when one comes across the pathologies that beset weapons acquisition and arms production in India. The late Stephen Cohen used to say that the Indians believe that if they hold out long enough on a weapons deal, they will get an attractive price. Instead, as we saw in the case of the Rafale, the cost of the plane tends to go up. Similarly, it took the IAF 20 years to finally acquire the Hawk trainer and by then the price of the programme had more than doubled. If India is to position itself to respond to the China challenge, buying quickly and efficiently are imperatives. The Israelis have made this clear to the India, encouraging the political leadership to sign a deal for the Phalcon AWACS system before the price goes up.