FRONT PAGE | Thursday, September 24, 2009 | Email | Print | 
IAF strength 1/3rd of China’s: Air Force chief
Rathin Das/Rahul Datta | Gandhinagar/New Delhi
While the Government tries hard to play down reports of repeated Chinese incursion, Air Chief Marshal PV Naik’s candid admission on Wednesday that the Indian Air force (IAF) fleet strength was just one-third of China’s has once again revived the debate on military balance between the nations.
The Air Chief said the IAF was just one-third the size of China’s and, therefore, it was going in for more acquisitions to enhance its capability. He, however, said there was no imminent threat from the Chinese border, adding, “We take every threat as a challenge.” His admission during a news conference at the South-Western Air Command Headquarters, Gandhinagar, came a few days after the just-retired Naval chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta had said that the country neither had the capability nor the intention to match China force for force.
Naik said he was not trying to downplay anything. But he reiterated that the IAF was fully capable of meeting any challenge. “The IAF capabilities are well established internationally,” he asserted.
Security experts feel that the Air Chief has issued a timely reminder to the defence establishment that the IAF force levels have depleted to just 31 squadrons from 35 in a decade. The Government has sanctioned to raise the level to 39 squadrons, but the process takes a long time.
At present, in comparison to China, India has a far superior quality of fighter jets, including the SU-30s, Mirages and MiG-29s. However, this gap between the two Air Forces will be bridged very soon as China is rapidly modernising its fleet after upgrading its land forces in the last 10 years.
The IAF squadrons started depleting a decade back with the old warhorse MiG-21s, inducted into the IAF in 1960s, reaching the end of their life cycle and other frontline fighter jets — like Jaguars and MiG-27s — also now on the brink of phasing out.
These three planes have undergone mid-life upgrades and the IAF is now racing against time to fill the gap by hastening the process of rapid modernisation. The major proposed acquisition in the pipeline is the Rs 45,000-crore deal for 127 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA).
Billed as “the mother of all defence deals”, the process of technical evaluation started last month in Bangalore, with six companies vying for the contract. The jets in the race include F-16 and F-18 (US), Gripen (Sweden), MiG-35 (Russia), Eurofighter (UK) and Rafael (France).
If everything goes as per schedule, the deal is likely to be inked by the end of 2011. While 50-odd plans will be bought off the shelf, the remaining jets will be manufactured by the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL). The IAF is also bolstering the fleet of its frontline fighter jet SU-30 by inducting at least 200 more planes within the next three years.
The current fleet strength is 60 and the IAF is keen to enhance the number of these jets as the mainstay — the SU-30 – is currently the most versatile plane in the world.
Similarly, the Government is trying to hasten the process of finalising the deal for modernisation of the French-built Mirage jet fighters. At present, the IAF has four squadrons of Mirage jets and many planes need mid-life upgrades.
Moreover, the IAF is keenly awaiting completion of the trials of the indigenously-designed and developed Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA). Coupled with the induction of MMRCA jets in 2012, at least three Tejas squadrons are also likely to join service at the same time.
As regards the threat perception from neighbours, Naik said, “We are not downplaying the challenges before us. But there is a strategy to handle it. One can either deal with it sternly or play cool and continue to develop capabilities. But everything takes time. So, whatever contracts have been signed or will be signed, we would get delivery after three years.” The IAF was aware of the situation, he added.
Asked about the deployment or arrangement along the India-China border, he said, “We have increased our capabilities on land as well as in air.” However, Naik refrained from divulging more information.
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