SP’s Aviation - April 2018

Military Combat airCraft

10 ISSUE 4 • 2018 http://www.sps-aviation.com

Military Combat airCraft

Slow Revamp

The latest blow to the IAF is the abandonment of a two-year-old plan to produce single-engine

fighters in large numbers indigenously with foreign collaboration under the

‘Make in India’ initiative

By Joseph NoroNha

in the recent past, hopes of the indian air Force (iaF)

of arresting the precipitous drop in the strength of its combat

fleet have been dashed yet again. The service has long been

assured that “action is in hand” to attain its sanctioned strength

of 42 squadrons by 2032, but achievement of that goal now

appears impossible. As is well known, the figure of 42 combat

squadrons, each consisting of 18 to 20 aircraft, is the assessed

minimum the IAF requires to engage China and Pakistan in a

putative two-front conflict. Even as the IAF’s numbers plunge,

the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) of China is rap-

idly expanding and modernising. The Pakistan Air Force is also

upgrading and at some point in time, could conceivably cross

the IAF’s strength numerically, though the IAF would continue

to enjoy a qualitative edge.

The latest blow to the IAF’s punch is the apparent abandon-

ment by the government of a two-year-old plan to produce sin-

gle-engine fighters in large numbers indigenously with foreign

collaboration under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The frontrun-

ners were Lockheed Martin of the United States with the F-

Block 70 and Saab of Sweden with its JAS 39 Gripen E. How-

ever, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) apparently wants to expand

the competition to twin-engine jets, including Boeing’s F/A-

Super Hornet, since the F-18E variant is a strong contender for

the Indian Navy’s impending contract for 57 carrier-based fight-

old workhorse: iaf’s su-30mki

PhotograPh: iaf