Suman
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Ajai Shukla's column "'Make in India' on the guillotine," (Broadsword, April 14) raises several compelling questions, especially about the arbitrary scrapping of defence procurement tenders.
However, to brand the Rafale deal a triumph for France, simply because of the prime minister's doggedness for a successful summit outcome might not be accurate.
India's future Air Force with 45 squadrons will possibly have 20 squadrons of heavy fighters - a mix of 272 SU-30s and 144 fifth generation fighter aircraft - that will progressively replace the MIG-29s, strengthening our air dominance and strategic bombing abilities.
Another 25 squadrons will be equipped with light/medium fighters. Nine squadrons of upgraded Mirage-2000/Jaguar fighters will eventually be replaced by the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA). The light combat aircraft (LCA)-Tejas could eventually equip 10 squadrons. Consequently, there is a gap of six squadrons; not accounting for the MIG-21s and MIG-27s, which will be retired in the interim.
The six medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) squadrons were intended to fill this gap with the latest versions of the Mirage 2000. However, most single-engine fighters of today - the F-35, Saab Gripen - have capabilities closer to "medium" fighters. This is possibly why the defence minister compared the abilities of the Rafale and Tejas, with the latter lacking in some aspects. Hence, our Air Force will have a combination of both, with economics deciding the ratio between the two.
Moreover, the MMRCA was expected to play a major role in invigorating India's military industrial complex; a utopian expectation at best. Expedited development of the LCA Mk-2 and AMCA could serve this objective better.
Vital to this effort would be the active involvement of the Air Force, whose attitude towards indigenous development has been lackadaisical at best.
However, to brand the Rafale deal a triumph for France, simply because of the prime minister's doggedness for a successful summit outcome might not be accurate.
India's future Air Force with 45 squadrons will possibly have 20 squadrons of heavy fighters - a mix of 272 SU-30s and 144 fifth generation fighter aircraft - that will progressively replace the MIG-29s, strengthening our air dominance and strategic bombing abilities.
Another 25 squadrons will be equipped with light/medium fighters. Nine squadrons of upgraded Mirage-2000/Jaguar fighters will eventually be replaced by the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA). The light combat aircraft (LCA)-Tejas could eventually equip 10 squadrons. Consequently, there is a gap of six squadrons; not accounting for the MIG-21s and MIG-27s, which will be retired in the interim.
The six medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) squadrons were intended to fill this gap with the latest versions of the Mirage 2000. However, most single-engine fighters of today - the F-35, Saab Gripen - have capabilities closer to "medium" fighters. This is possibly why the defence minister compared the abilities of the Rafale and Tejas, with the latter lacking in some aspects. Hence, our Air Force will have a combination of both, with economics deciding the ratio between the two.
Moreover, the MMRCA was expected to play a major role in invigorating India's military industrial complex; a utopian expectation at best. Expedited development of the LCA Mk-2 and AMCA could serve this objective better.
Vital to this effort would be the active involvement of the Air Force, whose attitude towards indigenous development has been lackadaisical at best.
