New Delhi: The fact that there were not enough fighter aircraft in the Indian Air Force's (IAF) fleet had been a constant worry for long. The worry had become a living nightmare in recent times with the changing environment particularly in the backdrop of an India-China border row that has escalated to uncontrollable levels.
That fear is in the process of being overwhelmed.
On Wednesday, the defence ministry issued the Rs 48,000 crore formal contract to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the supply of 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighters at the Aero India international air show at the Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru. The government had given the go-ahead just last month.
According to official assessments, India needs at least 43 fighter squadrons to tackle a two-front war situation but operates only about 33 squadrons now.
The initial plan was to form at least 45 squadrons by 2032. Clearly, that is being fast-tracked now.
While the LCA will be procured at a cost of Rs 45,696 crore, the design, development and infrastructure sanctions are valued at Rs 1,202 crore - marking the largest ever defence contract for indigenous manufacture.
The first three of these LCA Mark 1A fighters are expected to be ready by 2023 while the supply of the entire fleet is expected to be completed by 2028, with 16 aircraft a year for the next five years.
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Of the 83, 73 will be the Tejas Mk-IA variant while the remaining 10 will be the LCA Tejas Mk-I trainer version. Each Tejas Mk-IA will cost about Rs 309 crore and the trainer Rs 280 crore.
Besides lack of adequate fighter aircraft, the IAF is also challenged by limitations of airlift capability to enable Special Forces deployment, unmanned aerial vehicles, mid-air refuellers and many more - all under the overarching effort to move towards a theatre command structure.
Every fighter squadron operates 16-18 aircraft. At present, IAF's frontline fighter aircraft comprise Rafales, Su-30s, MiG-29s and Mirage-2000s.
A few of the 36 French Dassault-made Rafale multi-role fighters have already arrived in India, while 33 new aircraft including 21 MIG-29s and 12 Sukhoi 30 MKIs from Russia are also in the pipeline.
The IAF is the world's fourth-largest air force in terms of personnel and aircraft and has to operate in an air space spanning more than 40 million cubic km.
