Since the senior ranks get filled up by promotions, obviously such shortages are in the lower ranks which provide both the combat component as well as the battle leadership in any air force.
Hence the question needs to be raised whether the conclusions and recommendations of the Permanent Manpower Policy Committee set by Air Chief Marshal PC Lal in early 1972 that forecast shortages of pilots beginning by mid-1980s have been carried out? Going by the general trends of instituting ad-hoc measures based on available assets rather than long-term planning to create assets required for a steady state strength, it appears that adequate capacity to train sufficient pilots have not been created. The comfort level of low pilot strength with not particularly satisfactory serviceability of aircrafts in a force that has declined well below the authorised strength may hide the deficit in combat capability. The case of the AJT (Advanced Jet Trainer) required as replacement by 1972 but yet to land on IAF airfields is symptomatic, in that training patterns and syllabi were modified instead of creating adequate capacities. Even the number of (66) aircrafts being acquired is less than half the number of similar sized air forces that of the UK and France use!
Training of future pilots in particular and leaders in general, represents one of the biggest challenges that the Air Force confronts while it prepares itself for a much expanded role in the future. The solution does not lie in simply holding back officers from leaving the service once they have completed the primary flying tenure (averaging around 15 years for fighter pilots and 20-odd for transport crews). What is needed is to enhance the capacity for training service pilots. Studies in late 1960s had indicated that this approach is far more cost-effective than simply adding age and rank. The lesson from China, which has laid down much lower retiring ages for military command, provides an idea of the trends.
Notes
- George K. Tanham & Marcy Agmon, The Indian Air Force: Trends and Prospects, (Santa Monica, RAND, 1995) p. 42.
- Pakistan had tested a nuclear device (a Chinese design) in 1983 and acquired nuclear weapons by 1987. China had built up its nuclear arsenal since 1964.
- See The Times of India.
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