Retaining India’s air power The Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence in its latest report has revealed that the IAF’s fighter aircraft squadrons have come down to 25 against the sanctioned strength of 42. The Committee has expressed its concern over this. The IAF needs at least 45 fighter squadrons to meet a ‘two-front collusive threat’ which in simple language means defending the country against a simultaneous attack by Pakistan and China. But the sanctioned strength is only 42 squadrons. What the IAF desperately needs is a suitable and dependable Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) to augment its depleting strength. After a lengthy process, the French Rafale was selected and it was decided to acquire 126 of them in a specific time-frame. The discussions had reached the penultimate stage and it was expected that the deal valued at USD 30 billion would be finalized soon. But now the future of the Rafale deal has become uncertain for extraneous reasons. France had entered into an agreement with Russia to deliver Mistral class amphibious warships. It was a USD 1.7 billion deal. But irked by Russia’s role in the Ukrainian crisis, the United States and Germany have put tremendous pressure on France not to supply the vessels. France has buckled under the pressure and refused supply. This has made France appear as a totally unreliable supplier of military hardware. The defence establishment of India has questioned the prudence of going in for such a big-ticket deal as the Rafale with a country which has already proved itself as an unreliable supplier. Though the deal has not been formally cancelled, its future hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, the IAF’s fleet strength continues to deplete and India’s air power gets weakened. If the Rafale deal is ultimately scrapped, then negotiations for an alternative MMRCA should begin in right earnest and the deal finalized as early as possible because there will be a time gap between the signing of the agreement and the starting of delivery. The Russians are keen on selling the Sukhoi 27. But elaborate field trials must be held before the selection is made. The aircraft should be able to perform well in Indian conditions. The policy pursued by the USA vis-à-vis Russia is harming Indian interests. The economic sanction has forced Russia to find new buyers for its arms and weapon systems. Russia has lifted its arms embargo on Pakistan. It is also coming closer to China. Both the developments go against the interest of India. It is time India made it clear to Washington that friendship is not a one-way traffic. defencetalk.net/threads/retaining-india%E2%80%99s-air-power.3925/
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 14:24:53 +0000
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