Form of words:
aIR Marshal Vivek Ram Choudhary, who is currently serving as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, will take over as the Air Force. Chief of Indian Air Force next week. And the new Air Force chief will hardly have time to breathe comfortably as his ‘to do’ list is long.
The Narendra Modi government’s move to appoint him as deputy chief in July was significant – giving him time to understand the turning point at which the Indian Air Force currently stands. Earlier he did a ringside view.
Ideally, instead of announcing the appointments of service chiefs a few days before the incumbent retires, the government should name them at least a month in advance. It helps the successor to collect, prioritize and be a part of decision making, even if it is on an informal basis.
Air Marshal Choudhary is fortunate to have held important positions at Air Headquarters including the Deputy Chief in charge of planning and procurement. He was also the Western Air Commander and Senior Air Staff Officer in the Eastern Air Command.
But being in the hot seat means he will no longer be an observer and will have to make important decisions for the Indian Air Force, which is facing huge modernization challenges.
Thankfully for them, the existing ACM RKS Bhadauria has undertaken a lot of work and has sealed several emergency procurement contracts, which will help the force in both the short and long term, especially in the area of missiles and communications.
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theater command
For Air Marshal Choudhary, the IAF stands on the verge of the biggest defense reform the Indian Army will see – theatre. There is no doubt that a unified command, integrated procurement, joint planning and operations will bear fruit. But it is also a fact that the IAF has its own views on the stage and how it should be. Reservations on the structure of theater commands have been increasingly exposed over the past few months, to say the least. public.
All eyes will be on Air Marshal Choudhary as to how he handles this tricky issue and the public perception around it.
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reduce combat power
The biggest challenge for the new IAF chief will be to deal with the dwindling strength of the fighter aircraft squadron. Presently, the IAF is down to a squadron strength of 30 against the sanctioned strength of 42.
Bringing in more fighter jets will be the main focus of Air Marshal Chowdhury. As the deputy chief in charge of procurement, he is well aware of the pitfalls the Indian Air Force is in right now. In actual terms, 30 Squadron does not mean 30 Squadron because the availability ratio of certain types of aircraft is very low to say the least. Which means that someday, the actual availability of the aircraft is less as most of the spare parts get down or down for servicing due to non-availability of spare parts.
The new IAF chief will have to put pressure on the government to either launch another round of competition with an open tender for 114 fighter jets or get more Rafales. Either way, any delay will affect the capability of the Air Force both in the short and long term.
there has been reports Stating that the IAF has been asked to rationalize its squadron strength due to the increased capability of the Rafale aircraft and the upcoming induction of the S-400 air defense system.
But as of now there is no clarity on how the S-400 can meet the requirement of a fighter aircraft. It is like saying that there is no need to buy bullets because now we have bullet proof jackets.
Neither does the induction of two Rafale squadrons mean that the IAF can meet its planned requirement of 42 squadrons, including 126 medium multi-role aircraft for which the French fighters were selected in 2012.
I was Reported in 2019 that the situation is so pathetic that, as per IAF estimates, the strength of the squadron is reduced even if all the existing orders of 36 Rafale, six squadrons of Tejas (including Tejas Mark 1A) and two more squadrons of Su30 MKIs are taken into account. 27 by 2032 and only 19 by 2042. This is because the existing squadrons of MiG 21 Bison and Jaguar, and even Mirage 2000 and MiG 29, will be phased out over the next two decades.
But what happens when we add Tejas Mk 2 (still in the design stage), 114 new fighters (the project is yet to be decided), and the indigenous Advanced Medium Fighter Aircraft (still in the design stage)? what happens. ?
Even in a best-case scenario, the IAF will not reach the sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons until 2042.
And if it is assumed that all three futuristic aircraft are inducted according to plan, then the strength of the squadron will still be only 37 by 2042. The last time the IAF had 42 squadrons was in 2002, much earlier.
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Incorporating advanced drones, refuelers, space technology
Contrary to popular belief, India has made an early start in terms of drones. In the 1980s, the IAF started using US-made Chukar drones. It then headed for the exploratory drone from Israel and followed them with a more capable heron. India has been using munitions on the go for almost two decades. But the country seems to have lost its way in the middle.
The need of the hour is to assimilate more and more roaming weapons and different types of drones – armed, long-range surveillance and even swarm drones.
Also on the agenda of the new IAF chief will be to enhance India’s capability in mid-air refueling and its space capabilities that come under the purview of the IAF.
The IAF chief has his platter loaded to transform the Air Force into a modern combat force, capable of not only defending its borders, but also capable of launching force outside.
Thoughts are personal.
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