One more IAF plane crashed in last 10 days. It was a training aircraft.Both the trainer and the trainee died in the crash. IAF has gone down from one of the best to one below average. The training time had to be reduced because of the lack of a super sonic trainer. The one we have is a very old class. Graduating from which, the young recruit has to fly the flying coffin aka MiG 21. Air Force around the world mean the latest in technology and military hardware. They have the most cutting edge technology in the world. But IAF, na... they still fly the MiG 21 which is already in the museum of a lot of Air Forces. These are the same planes with which we fought the Indo-pak war of 1971, which means that they are at-least 38 years old. Reminds me of Fiat padmini, we laugh at people who still drive it and are amaze at the fact how they can drive a 20 year old car and here we have 38 year old aircrafts to defend us. What has the Govt Of India been doing?

The MiG crashes now and then have made people un-confident about our air force. Sadly no one among the public is asking why? MiG 21s are not the only ones, after that we have the aging fleet or MiG 27s and jaguars. MiG 29 are also getting old. Add to that, we are already short of aircraft. Instead iof sanctioned 39.5 squadrons, we have only 34. God forbids but if tomorrow we are pushed into battle, things won't be too good for us.

But this year things have been improving. And Congress seems to be taking bold steps under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh.The same man who saved India in 90's when India's economy was in shambles. Now lets check out the the good side. The Il-78 (Ilyushin -78, Russian) refuelers are here, which mean that IAF can send fighters any where in the world. That is how we got to participate in USAF's advanced training course - Red Flag. That's not the only good news, we are also getting AWACS (Advanced Warning And Control System). AWACS are special aircraft with a huge RADAR on top of them (check the pic on the left). This allows forces to see far deeper and in event of war will give India the edge. The AWACS we have is an Il-76 aircraft with Phalcon RADAR (Israeli). India already operates the Ilyushin 76 heavy lift cargo aircraft and using the same means we already have a service base in India. In addition to this IAF will also procure C-130 medium lift cargo aircraft from US (Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin, USA).

This is not it. IAF had few years back signed a deal for 140 Su-30MKI (Sukhoi 30, M:Improved, K:export version, I:India) air dominance fighters, the number of which have been increased to 230 now. Its a unique aircraft because IAF bought the best airframe which was Su-30MK, got it improved to a Su 35 level, got best avionics from Israel and Europe and got them integrated.

Another good news is that IAF has inducted the hawk super sonic aircraft too (check the pic on the right). Though, currently in process, this latest induction would mean that IAF can go back to the grueling training that IAF pilots used to get. With low risks, the new pilots would be trained better.

And now finally MMRCA(Meduim Multi Role Combat Airraft) deal for 126 aircrafts is coming into reality. And the contenders are one of the best. Here is a glance:

  • F-16 IN: The most advanced F-16, if ever built would be for the IAF.
  • F-18 F: The highly advanced F-18 used by US Navy.
  • Rafael: IAF wanted the Mirage but French Dassault came out with the best they had, the all new Rafael.
  • Euro-Fighter: This is the best the Europe has (excluding Rafael) to offer.
  • JAS 39 Grippen: This one from Sweden is not the best but certainly cost effective.
  • MiG 35: The son of MiG29, this new age avatar is the most agile aircraft in the world.

For more on MMRCA deal you can check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_MRCA_competition (opens in new window)

Had enough good news? No.. then here is the dessert - after the failure of Kaveri engine for LCA, the indigenous aircraft will be fitted with a foreign engine. IAF had long been unimpressed and was afraid that Govt might force it to use ingeniously built engine. The new proven engine will make sure that this delayed aircraft is combat worthy and if hopefully approved by the IAF, it would be the first indigenous combat aircraft.

While all this coming too late for India, but thankfully, its coming. Threat from China is no more being ignored by Indian government. We still are completely depended on foreign suppliers for our defense procurement and its high time that we start building good products in India. They need not be world class but they should not be a flop show. I hope the future governments do take this up-gradation of our armed forces ahead because in this new age of nuclear war, if a war erupts, we should have our men in uniform equipped with best we can give them to take the fight to the enemy and come back winning.