Indian Air Force to be 'transformed' over 10 years: Air Chief

By Gulshan Luthra and Air Marshal Ashok Goel (Retd)

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has initiated a major transformation process, requiring around US$ 70 billion over the next few years.

According to an India Strategic study by these writers, except for the newly acquired SU 30MKIs, IAF needs to replace and augment nearly 100 per cent of its fighter, transport and helicopter fleets for the simple reason that all of them are around 20 years old or more, and would need replacement even after their useful lives are extended by around 10 years or so with new onboard avionics and missiles as the airframes and engines remain the same.

Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal F.H. Major also told India Strategic defence magazine in an interview "that the process to transform the force had begun and that the next 10 years would be important in this regard" as there would be positive, all-round changes.

From aircraft to airbases with precision approach and surveillance radars, there would be visible changes by 2015, he observed, adding that the emphasis was on all-weather, round-the-clock operational capability.

He did not however comment on the financial figure calculated by these writers but said that the IAF "plan is three-pronged - to preserve, upgrade and acquire" and that "adequate budgetary support is available for procurement of new aircraft".

IAF has a sanctioned strength of 45 combat squadrons, but it never got more than 39.5 squadrons. As a thumb rule, it takes approximately $ 1.5 billon to set up a fighter squadron of 18 aircraft, two of which are used for operational training and as reserve.

The IAF combat squadron strength has been depleting over the years, and according to our study, even if 35 squadron are replaced with new jets over the next 10 to 15 years, their cost would be around $ 50 billion.

Even the air dominance SU 30 MKI, which is now being made by HAL, is cheaper than the 126 Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) that the IAF hopes to induct by 2012. The Sukhoi is cheaper because the Russian platforms are generally lower in costs, and also because the agreement for this aircraft was signed in the 1990s when the prices were low.

India is buying 230 of these aircraft, most of which are to be progressively assembled/ built at by HAL. According to the Air Chief, IAF had taken possession of all the SU 30MKIs that were supposed to have come directly from Russia, and now, their production was "proceeding satisfactorily" at the HAL facilities in India.

Firm costs of aircraft are never available as the final cost of an aircraft depends on the avionics and weapons on board, and these are generally secret.

But the cost of one MRCA is estimated at around $ 50 million , and the Ministry of Defence has indicated an expenditure of billions of dollars on their acquisition, inclusive of the avionics-and-weapons package that the IAF wants, as well as the cost of Transfer of technology (ToT) and required maintenance facilities.

In an earlier study, we had considered a figure between $35 and 45 billion, but a revision is imperative and $70 billion looks more or less a realistic figure.

In war – if there is one – there is no choice but to have a decisive edge, and the air force now needs to replace as well as augment its aircraft and systems in line with modern technology.

About the ageing aircraft and their declining strength, Air Chief Marshal Major said: "With regard to the hardware, it is our endeavour to make good all deficiencies, upgrade the existing equipment and procure state-of-the-art weapon systems."

The cost of an SU 30 MKI, fitted with some French and Israeli avionics, is not known but as for the MRCA, it may be noted that Boeing, which has offered its twin-engine F 18 Super Hornet in the MRCA category as the replacement for the Mig 21, has set a price tag of $49.9 million.

Boeing President of Precision Engagement and Mobility Systems Chris Chadwick, who has been coordinating his company's potential sales to India, told India Strategic that this price included the AESA radar and most of the equipment on board the Super Hornets supplied to the US Navy, which in fact, flies the world's fourth-largest air force.

IAF has already phased out nearly two-thirds of its 300 Mig 21 aircraft, as well as Mig 23-MF, (six) Mig 25 spy jets, Hunters, Canberras and some transporters over the last 10 years.

Of the 300-plus Mig 21s, which formed the mainstay fighting force of the IAF, about 125 are being retained and upgraded to the Mig 21Bis category. That is, the platform and engines are same but overhauled, and the onboard avionics and missiles are the latest.

The air chief said that the IAF had already completed the upgrade process for 100 Mig 21Bis, fitting them with Beyond the Visual Range (BVR) missiles, a new navigation-attack radar and other weapons "dramatically improving their capability".

Air Chief Marshal Major said that the IAF "started upgrading its combat fleet a few years ago to enhance their operational capability" and that in addition to the SU 30MIs under procurement, "the planned induction of Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCAs), the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and the 5th Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) - being developed with Russia - would arrest the declining combat squadrons strength".

Overall, it may be noted that our study takes into account acquisition of 230 SU 30 MKIs, 126 MRCAs, new transport aircraft, new helicopters, AWACs, midair refuelers, pilot-less Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and possibly Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), radars, Aerostats and secure satellite and other communications, contemporary electronic systems as well as a periodic cost escalation between 0.5 to 1 percent per year.

About the ongoing modernization, Air Chief Marshal Major said: "Of the available fleets, the Mig 21Bis, Mig 27 and Jaguar aircraft have already been upgraded. "Upgrades of the Mirage 2000 and Mig 29 aircraft are being processed."

As for the transport and helicopter fleets, he said the IAF had already signed an agreement for six Lockheed Martin C 130Js transport aircraft while 24 combat helicopters and 12 heavy lift helicopters would also be acquired. A plan to six more C 130Js and 80 Mi-17 helicopters from Russia to augment the fleet was being pursued.

"The IAF is actively pursuing a comprehensive plan to upgrade its helicopter fleet, by upgrading older aircraft and inducting new ones," he said, adding that the existing "Mi 17s multi role helicopters and Mi 35 combat helicopters will be upgraded".

The air chief also pointed out that the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) built by the public sector HAL was operational and being continuously improved" and that "the armed version of the ALH has also flown while its attack version, the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), is in the pipeline".

"A number of procurement schemes are being processed and we will, in future, have a mix of indigenous and imported aircraft to meet our operational requirements, which include heavy, medium-lift and utility helicopters.

The air chief pointed out that the demands on the IAF transport fleet were growing due to the enhanced national and international commitments and "they will only increase in future."

"Our fleet is set to expand to meet these enhanced tasks and a variety of procurement schemes are being progressed," he said, adding that there were plans to enhance our air transportation capabilities in the Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) category," which will be produced in a joint venture with Russia.

 

 

Source: India Strategic