SOLVING THE INDIAN AIR FORCE'S FIGHTER DILEMMA

With the IAF now facing a two-front air threat, there is no escaping the fact that it needs new aircraft and missiles in greater numbers

- AMIT GUPTA

The Indian Air Force has begun eThe dilemmas facing the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter force are well known: the IAF is meant to be at 42 combat squadrons but is around 31 and facing a two-front threat; international aircraft production has met with lengthy delays leading to a medium to long term shortfall of aircraft; the country's arms acquisition process is lengthy and cumbersome; even if deals were signed expeditiously, it will be years before new fighters enter squadron service; and domestic aircraft production has encountered its own set of problems that need to be resolved. The question is what can and should be done to reverse these trends.

Numbers Matter

The Russians say that quantity has its own quality, meaning that if you have a large number of aircraft, it gives you force superiority and redundancy in the ability to take losses and continue the fight. Recognising that the country now has a two-front threat with China and Pakistan, and the fact that both its adversaries are rapidly modernising, the IAF has made informal plans to eventually build the force up to sixty combat squadrons. That would mean doubling the current force to over 1,000 combat aircraft.

The problem for the IAF is that it will not be easy to even get back to 42 squadrons. The reason for this is the global problem of continuing delays in production and the existing commitments of fighter manufacturers. For example, Lockheed Martin has orders to sell 167 F-16s around the world, and last year it delivered 16 aircraft to its customers. That would mean if India were to sign a deal tomorrow for the F-16, which, given India’s cumbersome acquisition process, is unlikely, it would still be around eight to ten years before the first aircraft came into the Indian force structure.