The Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on September 12, openly pitched for rapidly making up the short fall of combat fighters of the IAF by increasing production of the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A).
“The issue is matching production capacity with our requirements,” Chaudhari said at a media briefing at the conclusion of Tarang Shakti 2024.
After much hoopla over orders given by the IAF to Hindustan Aeronautics limited [HAL] for 180 LCA Mk 1 A worth thousands of crores or billions of dollars, the delay by HAL in fielding the first fly away version of the fighter has raised concerns.
“We could diversify and have multiple production lines for the aircraft. How to go about it is a challenge that the industry needs to address and come up with a solution. It could be some kind of public-private partnership, a joint venture or any model currently available with the industry, and HAL needs to take the lead on this,” the IAF chief said.
HAL is hopeful of manufacturing 24 aircraft per year with a new production line in Nashik to supplement the 16 LCA Mk-1As that are planned from the Bengaluru plant. As per the IAF Chief, the LCA Mk-1 predecessor version of the advanced Mk 1 A had performed creditably during the multi national exercises Tarang Shakti .
While delays by the Boeing for provision of the F404 engines is being cited as a reason for the present hold up, yet there are many other factors which have been contributory some of them legacy issues within the IAF and the Ministry of Defence [MOD].
Exercise Tarang Shakti & MOD and IAF Parallel Tracks
This comes even as Indian Defence Minister termed Multinational Exercise 'Tarang Shakti' as an effort to strengthen cooperation, coordination and trust with the partner countries addressing the Visitors’ Day event in the second phase in Jodhpur as per the Ministry of Defence Press Release. “When an exercise of such complexity and large magnitude takes place, soldiers with different work cultures, air combat experiences and war fighting principles learn a lot from each other,” Raksha Mantri said. Indeed this was a seminal statement.
Rajnath Singh however perhaps went overboard when he stated, “Today’s landmark event is an opportunity to celebrate the grand achievements of the Indian Air Force. We are not only celebrating the achievements of being the fastest growing economy, but also taking pride that our armed forces are now being considered as one of the most powerful in the world.”
He added, “At the time of independence the Indian Air Force had only six squadrons of two types of aircraft. Similarly, the rest of the war equipment was not only old but also limited in number. But today, equipped with the best and modern aircrafts from around the world and next generation equipment, the Indian Air Force has transformed itself.”
The discerning audience could not have well smirked with disapproval as the narrative seemed to be far ahead of the reality with the IAF facing a shortfall of at least 14 squadrons of the desired 42 fighter squadrons. More over almost half of these are made up of the Sukhoi 30 MKI which has long down time.
Never one to let go of an opportunity to demonstrate indigenous capabilities the Defence Minister inaugurated the International Defence and Aerospace Expo (IDAX-24), which showcased India’s commitment to indigenous defence manufacturing and aerospace innovation where sixty-eight industry players presented cutting-edge defence technologies.
Despite the shortfall, the Ministry of Defence is pitching for exports with Egyptian officials visited the production lines of the light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A) and the advanced light helicopter (ALH) in Bengaluru as reported by the Hindustan Times.
It appears that the MOD and the IAF are on parallel tracks with different objectives – MOD wants to flag indigenous capabilities and export potential while the air force wants to rapidly make up the operational deficits at a time when the PLA Air Force is ramping up capabilities in terms of fielding fifth generation fighters.
Vice Chiefs SOS on Fighter Strength
Indeed just weeks prior to the IAF Chief’s open call pleading for making up numbers on emergency basis, the Vice Chief of the Air Force had made a similar appeal.
While it was well known that the Indian Air Force [IAF] is facing a deficit of multiple fighter squadrons due to delay in induction of aircraft which is a factor of acquisitions both in terms of procurement and production, Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal A P Singh in his address at a CAPS seminar pitched for fostering greater ‘atmanirbharta’ but not at the cost of operational readiness of the force. “Atmanirbharta is what we are riding on. Majority of contracts are with Indian partners, Indian industry… But, this atmanirbharta cannot be at the cost of nation’s defence. Nation’s defence comes first and foremost,” he said.
The IAF Vice Chiefs concerns were not surprising. As per multiple reports, IAF currently has about 31 fighter jet squadrons against the sanctioned strength of 42, which include the ageing MiG 21s and Jaguar besides the MiG 29 which are to be decommissioned by 2029-30. IAF’s fighter jet squadrons are primarily made up of about 270 Su-30 MKI with poor availability ratio. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has further made key spare parts difficult to procure. As a stop-gap arrangement, the IAF is in talks with Qatar to procure 12 Mirage fighter jets. IAF still has two fighter squadrons of MiG-21 fighters at the Nal fighter base near Bikaner as per the Hindustan Times.
VCAS flagged that “the rate at which we are getting our equipment at the moment, is too low” and there was a need to increase it. “When we look at our adversaries, the rate at which they are growing, the rate at which they are imbibing these technologies and still growing in numbers… we have a long gap to catch up with and this gap is widening further. This is something that we need to look at as a whole and we need to find a solution to this gap that is building,” he said.
“One thing is certain, if we need to do something, we need to stay… in the game, we need to modernise, we need to continue to grow, continue to innovate and we need to continue being ahead of the curve. Otherwise, we lag behind and we are just chasing,” Air Marshal Singh said.
“This conflict [War in Ukraine] has also demonstrated the integration of multiple forces in domains of air, land, sea, cyber, information, space and how they are united to achieve the goal. I am sure everyone present here, including my friends from other services will agree that the air domain has clearly emerged as a singular trans-domain link and strong force across domains, a strong method for cross-domain application of force. It is not just an enabler, it has become a force multiplier,” he asserted. The comments of the VCAS assume significance after it was reported that there will be delays in induction of the fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force as indicated below.
“And, if the IAF and Indian forces have to ride on this atmanirbharta, it is only possible if everyone, from DRDO to DPSUs to the private industry, hold our hands and take us on that path. And, don’t let us deviate from that path. Because, when it comes to national defence, there will be compulsions to deviate from that path in case we do not get the things that we need, or the kind of systems or weaponry required to survive in today’s world,” the air marshal said.
Delay in LCA Mark 1 A
The Indian Air Force (IAF) was expected to receive the first Mk-1A aircraft earlier this year but now it is anticipated that the same will be delivered in August. The delay is said to be primarily due to non receipt of GE F404 engines from US-based GE Aerospace, which has pushed back the production schedule by around 12 months. The Tejas Mk-1A’s maiden flight on March 28, 2024, used reserve Category B engines. The contract between India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd [HAL] and GE, signed in August 2021, required GE to supply 99 engines starting in March 2023 to meet the IAF’s requirements. GE was expected to deliver engines in sync with HAL’s production rate of 16 aircraft per year.
HAL had placed an order of Rs 5,375 crore for 99 F404-GE-IN20 engines and support services with GE Aviation, to power the `Tejas’ in 2021 but GE has not been able to deliver due to supply chain issues. The first two engines are expected by the end of September or even later. HAL has committed to deliver 16 fighters in the financial year 2024-25 and the entire order of 83 aircraft by 2028-29. HAL has established a new production line in Nashik, in addition to its Bengaluru facility, aiming to produce up to 24 aircraft annually.
The IAF issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to HAL in April for an additional 97 LCA Mk-1A fighters, signalling its continued commitment to the programme to cost around ₹67,000 crore. The initial order of ₹48,000-crore contract is for 83 jets. The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington in June 2023 to produce 99 F414 engines for the future LCA Mk-2 programme during PM Narendra Modi’s visit.
MRFA Tender ?
The initial proposal for procuring of Medium Multi role fighters for the IAF was floated in 2007. Now 17 years later only 36 of the 126 fighters scheduled to be inducted are in the air force in to squadrons. A subsequent proposal for procurement of 114 multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA) to further bolster its capabilities is delayed. Rafale, F-15EX, Gripen, and F-21 are in contention but the government has yet to clear the MRFA project for tendering. Lockheed Martin’s CEO was in India, possibly promoting their F-21 fighter jets as part of the MRFA programme and also met the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) posted on X: "CEO of @LockheedMartin, Jim Taiclet met Prime Minister @narendramodi. Lockheed Martin is a key partner in India-US Aerospace and Defence Industrial cooperation. We welcome it's commitment towards realising the vision of 'Make in India, Make for the World."
Options Ahead
Given the state of combat fighter fleet of the IAF, stop gap arrangements as inducting Mirage fighters from Qatar or adding more Su 30 fighters from Russia is unlikely to substantially boost the fighter strength and could be said to be just emergency band aid.
The Ministry of Defence has to activate the procurement process for the combat aircraft including the MRFA on priority with definitive timelines. The IAF in the trial process needs to accept that the perfection can be a mirage and go in for a viable fighter which can be delivered off the shelf in the first lot and establish a plant which is the rider of the Ministry of Defence in the interim. Inversion of the process of waiting for a foreign company to establish a plant and provide technology for manufacturing is unviable. Meanwhile the United States Government has to be tapped to get GE Aerospace to deliver the F 404 engines on priority.
Accepting the status quo is not an option.
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