With the ascent of military driven and forces backed economies, every nation is giving its best to empower its armed forces. Indian, being the owner of 3rd largest army, has gathered much fame, but it seems that IAF is going through tough times. All SSB aspirants need to be aware of the matter and all related aspects.
Current Status
Recently IAF’s Air Marshal BS Dhanoa, Vice Chief of Air Staff disclosed that Indian Air Force is going through a shortage of squadrons. The required/ recommended squadrons for IAF is 42, while the current count is 33 squadrons. The shortage is a signal for the Defence Ministry to gear up and provide sufficient requirements to the air force. The number of jets is going down with the drop in the number of Mig aircraft in IAF.
Why Is This A Matter Of Concern?
Pakistan has come up with the induction of JF-17 jets made by the collaboration of Pakistan and China. Along with this, Pakistan has also grabbed the deal of F-16 jets of U.S… Currently the deal is going through ups and downs, due to the India’s protest over the deal. Another big rival, China, is about to receive first batch of Su-35 from close ally Russia. India’s close neighbours are preparing and arming their Air Force, when India is facing aircraft deficiency.
What India Is Doing As Counter Measure?
Well, India has planned to recover its deficient squadrons by inducting indigenously manufactured aircraft – Tejas (Light Combat Aircraft). The aircraft was appreciated a lot in Bahrain Air Show. Another ace to be inducted is Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is expected to be inducted in upcoming years. LCH will fire rockets and LCA is capable of performing “swing roll” and firing BVR missile and guided bombs simultaneously. On the other hand, India is very close to its long pending Dassault’s Rafale deal. After its induction, India will get some relief from squadron deficiency.
Recent Enhancement
Recently Indian government has given green signal to the purchase of Air Gun. The requirement of 61 flights of Air defence guns has been accepted by Defence Acquisition Council. Each flight will have 4 guns. The guns will be procured under “Buy and Make” procedure. According to the sources, the system has got radars and can shoot down drones and low flying objects. The guns will be made in India in collaboration with the foreign collaboration.
Not only this, Defence Acquisition Council has cleared the purchase of sensors and weapon packages for the new stealth frigate P-17A.
CONCLUSION – Indian air force has shown its performance in many wars. India is completely dependent over its armed forces for securing its entire border connected with Pakistan and China. The ongoing deficiency has made a cavity in defence and security field. Indian air force is advancing its tentacles in all parts and terrains. Last year, a trial landing of aircraft over the Yamuna express highway and current step of reactivating two landing ground in Arunachal Pradesh. The advancement and covering the border area is necessary for the IAF to manage the ongoing weaknesses of Indian air forces. The deficiency is also expected to be fulfilled in short time as the Defence Ministry is stressing over induction of Tejas. Well, the current scenario specifies the increase in defence budget to maintain the defence and security facilities.
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