Focus on capacity enhancement of IAF as China unveils two’6th Gen’ fighter jets

New Delhi: As China has unveiled two new under development ‘Sixth Generation’ fighter jets that can give it a global aerial combat edge, the focus is firmly on capacity enhancement of the Indian Air Force which has been struggling to even reach its target for adequate ‘Fourth Generation’ combat jets.Even as the number of combat jets has hit an all-time low since 1965, the larger worry is that India has been facing significant delays from its major defence suppliers, the US and Russia, which has resulted in degraded combat capability.

With the US, the inordinate delay in supply of GE 404 jet engines has led to major setback for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA Mk1a) programme that was meant to replace retiring MiG 21 fighter jets. Deliveries for these jets – 83 were ordered in 2021 – was to start this year but is being pushed well into 2025 as GE has been unable to supply the jet engines due to disruptions in its supply chains, particularly in South Korea.

With Russia, the problem is on the other spectrum of aerial warfare – anti air defence systems. India had ordered five regiments of S400 long-range air defence systems. While all were to be delivered by 2023, till now only three have arrived. There is no clarity on when the last two will be delivered, with a possibility that the waiting period could extend to 2026. Both delays are being attributed to disruptions in supply chains – a recurring theme for defence suppliers in recent years with the twin hits of the Covid-19 crises and a spate of regional conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war and trouble in West Asia.

Creating indigenous options and establishing a robust aero-defence ecosystem is the way forward but things have moved at a slow pace in recent years. While Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has commenced manufacturing the LCA Mk1a, new programmes like a Mk2 version of the aircraft and a future ‘Advanced Multirole Combat Aircraft’ are years away from even a prototype flying, much less serialised production to meet air force requirements.

Adding to this is the inability to develop a cutting edge fighter jet engine in India that would power next generation jets. An engine is at the very core of a combat aircraft right from the design stage and India has been unable to select a foreign partner for the ambitious plan to develop an engine with at least 110 kN of power. A lucrative offer from France to co-develop the engine has been in cold storage for the past eight years, while another from the UK has been languishing as well with no forward movement.These, and other issues like how to proceed with procuring new Multi Role Fighter Aircraft and aerial refuellers, are to be addressed by a new committee set up in the defence ministry that has its task cut out as Indian aerial capacity is degrading while China has been on overdrive.