Military & Aerospace

Indian Air Force: Looking into the future
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Issue Vol. 26.4 Oct-Dec 2011 | Date : 30 Jan , 2012

Surface-to-Air Guided Weapons (SAGW). The IAF has initiated the process of replacing its outdated AD missiles with state-of-the art SAM systems. 18 MRSAM (Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles) firing units and four Israeli Spyder SAM systems are likely to become operational next year. 49 short range SAM systems are also being acquired and eight indigenous Akash SAM squadrons will begin induction this year. By 2022, the IAF’s entire AD system is expected to be equipped with new-generation SAM weaponry.

The IAF could also take a leaf out of Israels book ““ within 10 to 12 years a third of Israeli Air Force aerial platforms will probably be unmanned; this could increase to half by 2030.

Radars. Induction of new medium power radars commenced in March and they are expected to be operational by December 2012. Some indigenously developed low-looking Rohini radars are operational; the rest will be by 2014-15. New AWACS and AEW&C aircraft, aerostats and mountain radars are expected to provide seamless cover across the country.

Net-centricity. Net-centricity is the warfare of the future. For the IAF, its foundation, the AFNET, is already in place. Nodes known as Integrated Command and Control Systems (ICACS) will also be based across the country. The fused air picture of all military and civil sensors will be available at designated places to control air operations. This will reduce the IAF’s reaction time and greatly enhance its response to an air intrusion.

Space-based Assets. The IAF hopes to get its first dedicated communications satellite for networking its air and ground sensors and weapon platforms by next year. This will help to achieve net-centricity and upgrade its war-fighting capabilities.

A-330-MRTTMAFI. Last, but not least, all this sophisticated hardware needs to be backed up by suitable infrastructure. The current facilities at many IAF bases fall short of requirements. Hence, the Modernisation of Airport Infrastructure (MAFI) project has been initiated, with the IAF base at Bathinda, Punjab, being first in line. The aim is to upgrade a number of vital airfields and bases with the latest communications, landing aids and AD systems.

Upgrades

An advanced and expensive weapon system can become obsolete within just 25 to 30 years. This period is sometimes extendable by 10 to 15 years through mid-life upgrade. With prices of sophisticated military hardware going through the roof, upgrades have become the norm. However, aerospace technology is progressing at a rapid rate and the time to obsolescence is shrinking further, with major implications for the modernisation schedule.

It is necessary to lay the groundwork for a 45-combat-squadron force that will be required for the IAF to go on the offensive against one of its adversaries, while keeping the other at bay”¦

The IAF’s 51-strong fleet of 25-year-old Mirage 2000H fighters will be modernised at $47 million per plane, allowing this highly dependable aircraft to remain combat-effective well into the 2030s. The pace, however, is not impressive. It may take four years to upgrade the first four aircraft in France. Thereafter, HAL will upgrade 10 to 11 aircraft per year, completing the programme around 2020.

The upgrade of 63 MiG-29 fighters to MiG-29UPG standard is already in progress. Six aircraft will be upgraded in Russia, while the remaining 57 are to be done at the IAF’s 11 Base Repair Depot (BRD).

The unfortunate fatal Jaguar accident in early August highlights the urgent need for re-engineering this 30-year-old warhorse which still has considerable residual airframe life.. Engines, avionics and armament – all need refurbishment in the fleet of about 125 Jaguars.

Some transport aircraft are also being gifted a new lease of life. The An-32 medium tactical transport aircraft has been operational since 1984 and 103 planes remain in the IAF inventory. The IAF has already received five upgraded An-32RE aircraft after overhaul and re-equipment in Ukraine that will enhance their life to 40 years. A total of 40 aircraft are to be upgraded in Ukraine and the remaining 63 at the IAF’s 1 BRD. However, the aircraft will only meet the tactical transport requirements of the IAF till around 2020 after which they need to be replaced. The IAF hopes to begin inducting by the end of this decade, the first of the 45, 15-tonne payload capacity, Indo-Russian Multi-Role Transport Aircraft under development jointly by HAL and United Aircraft Corporation of Russia. The transport fleet of the IAF will be left with deficiency in the five to ten tonne payload class once the AN32 fleet is phased out.

Destined for Delay

The IAF saw its first phase of modernisation during the mid-1960s; the next in the early 1980s. Thereafter there was a prolonged lull. It seemed unable to convince the government of the necessity and urgency of inducting new equipment. The 1999 Kargil war proved the catalyst for the current modernisation wave; else the IAF may still have been waiting.

Reaper_MQ-9Indeed, for decades the IAF seemed fated to play a frustrating game of catch-up with its critical requirements. Last year, the CAS observed that 50 per cent of the IAF’s equipment was either obsolete or obsolescent. The situation has only worsened. Acquisition of vitally needed new hardware is often held hostage to allocation of funds. Inductions materialise only when cleared by the civilian bureaucracy and sanctioned by the political leadership – the norm is piecemeal acquisition based on case-by-case justification, rather than in accordance with a sound, long-term defence plan. As a result, a great deal of hardware still in the pipeline ought to have been here a decade ago. Even the much-vaunted MMRCA may seem somewhat outdated by the time it finally arrives.

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The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

Gp Capt Joseph Noronha

Former MiG-21 Pilot and experienced IAF instructor before he turned to writing articles on aviation.

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