It is a well known fact that the fleet of combat aircraft in the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been dwindling rapidly over the last decade or so with the retirement of the ageing fleets of MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft, all of Soviet origin, but most of it manufactured under licence in India by the Indian aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). What is a matter of concern, however, is that the IAF appears somewhat helpless in its efforts at finding replacement for fleets of combat aircraft that are being overtaken by obsolescence. Apart from a handful of squadrons of Jaguars and Mirage 2000 aircraft that are of Western origin, the mainstay of the combat fleet of the IAF continues to be dependent on fighters of Russian origin, predominantly the Su-30MKI, once again licence-produced by HAL.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of a unipolar world, the IAF was presented with the option to explore markets in the US and Europe for combat aircraft and other aerial platforms for military application. However, efforts by Air Headquarters over the last decade-and-a-half to procure fourth-generation combat platforms from the West in large numbers have not been successful. The first high profile case that was initiated by Air Headquarters in the beginning of the last decade was for 126 fourth-generation multi-role combat aircraft for which the Rafale from Dassault Aviation of France was selected. Unfortunately, nearly eight years after the request for proposal was issued in August 2007, the tender had to be cancelled. Apparently, there were irreconcilable differences on account of which the project hit an insurmountable roadblock. The IAF that was eagerly awaiting the finalisation of the contract for 126 Rafale jets was left literally high and dry without any alternatives in sight. Besides, the Indian aerospace industry lost a golden opportunity to manufacture this platform within the country.

Soon after taking over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi persuaded the French Government to supply 36 Rafale jets instead. After over a year since this government-to-government deal was struck at the highest level, the contract for the supply of 36 Rafale jets was finally signed in September this year. These aircraft will be delivered to the IAF by 2021. In any case, induction of just 36 aircraft will not be of much help in reversing the plummeting fortunes of the IAF. Meanwhile, there has also been dialogue with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Saab of Sweden. As per Manohar Parrikar, the Minister of Defence, there are plans to have at least one if not two types of fighters these companies have to offer for licensed production in India. Once again, the proposal continues to remain shrouded in uncertainty.

As for indigenous capability, the first squadron of the indigenously designed, developed and produced light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas was raised on July 1 this year, more than three decades after the project was launched. Hopefully, the rate of production of this platform will be adequately ramped up by HAL to restore the strength of the combat fleet to the authorised level. Despite the deficiencies observed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, there is considerable optimism amongst the test pilots who regard it as a well-designed platform which has the potential for further capability upgrade. As the IAF has not been able to achieve a breakthrough in the procurement of combat platforms from abroad, it sees the LCA Tejas and its planned variants as a readily available solution to arrest at least partially, the alarming and continuous erosion of its operational capability.

The near total dependence on foreign sources for the acquisition of combat aircraft has proved somewhat detrimental to the development of the Indian aerospace industry. The common refrain that HAL responsible for development of combat platforms is incapable may not be entirely justifiable. After all, it was this very establishment that produced the HF-24 Marut supersonic fighter-bomber aircraft. Assisted by a team of designers headed by the famous Dr Kurt Tank from Germany, HAL embarked on the project to design this platform in 1957. Production of the HF-24 Marut commenced in June 1961, just four years later and the aircraft was inducted into service in 1967. From the launch of the project to service entry took just a decade. The fact that the project related to LCA Tejas, though launched 16 years after the HF-24 Marut entered service, has taken more than three decades to be operationalised only reflects the fact that the Indian aerospace has failed to build on its experience and success of the 1960s.

The success of the HF-24 Marut project indicates that given the right policy framework, access to the latest technologies and professional management, there is no reason why the Indian aerospace industry cannot deliver indigenously developed world-class products for the Indian armed forces.