SPECIAL REPORT
With the recent spotlight on the Indian Air Force, Combat Aircraft assesses its plans to modernize its ageing fighter fleet.
THE GOVERNMENT-APPROVED STRENGTH of the Indian Air Force (IAF), given the country’s well-publicized security scenario and the possibility of a ‘two-front’ threat of combined Pakistani and Chinese air action to the west and north-east, is 42 fighter squadrons. There is little clarity on how this exact number was arrived at, but nonetheless, the IAF hasn’t come close to this strength for two decades, and has never approached anything near a force entirely equipped with modern aircraft.
Although older types such as the Jaguar, MiG-21 and MiG-27 have been heavily upgraded to keep them relevant, the IAF itself is quite open about the need to move to a multi-role force of contemporary combat platforms. At present, only its Su-30MKIs and Mirage 2000s can be considered as belonging to this category.
The IAF’s fighter fleet now stands at 30 squadrons, of which six fly obsolescent MiGs and one is a fledgling Tejas (Light Combat Aircraft) unit flying the new fighter from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The force stands to lose at least six fighter squadrons over the next fou…
