The Doctrine of the Indian Air Force 2022, elucidates that the two pillars of Air Power, air defence and offensive air power are indivisibly interlinked. IAF’s Integrated Air Defence System (IADS) which is networked by its Integrated Air Command and Control system (IACCS), will form the backbone of all air operations in India’s future conflicts. Air Power has logically expanded to Aerospace Power and the need to defend space borne assets and their ground-based infrastructure. This doctrine serves as a roadmap in absorbing future technologies in the conduct of its missions and to transform from a contemporary to a future ready force. The shift from a legacy ‘threat based and demanded’ approach to a ‘capability demanded’ approach demands indigenous research and development in niche areas, and ‘plug and play’ capabilities with the Army and the Navy. The technological dynamics of the emerging technologies have a profound impact in the conduct of Aerospace Warfare. For the 21st century transforming of IAF we need to deliberate the Indian ecosystems for innovation and the various scenarios for possible engagements, whilst integrating current capability trends and existing orders of battle. Also, technologies that are still emerging worldwide have to reach the necessary level of maturity to have a significant effect on the employment of Aerospace Power in Indian context.

NETWORK CENTRICITY

Network Centric Warfare (NCW) is now fundamental to IAF’s power projection, with Offensive and Air Defence Operations being conducted synergistically through IACCS. At the same time, enterprise level digitisation drives the techno-logistics and administration aspects of the IAF. A technology-driven major overhaul of conventional warfare is inevitable in the near future. Smaller, smarter, potent and cheaper combat entities, linked and networked, will be at the heart of future warfare. With IAF modernisation plans and acquisition challenges, it would be an endeavour to keep pace with future environment and challenges in the 21st century.

Network centricity of warfare is evolving fast to gain military advantage by incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and other disruptive technologies. These technologies are increasingly edging out humans from what is called as ‘human-in-the-loop’ to ‘human-on-the-loop’. HAL is developing the Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) of which CATS Warrior (Teaming drone), CATS Hunter (Air-launched cruise missile) and Alpha-S (Glider drone), all of which are unmanned systems remotely controlled via secure data links, and equipped with electro-optical and infrared sensors. Substantial use of long range and very long-range missiles with terminal guidance, as demonstrated in the ongoing Ukraine conflict are the next massproduced combat identities gaining operational relevance.

The modern high technology weapons in battlespace have enhanced precision, kill probability, easy mobility and transportability with greater reliability. The increased lethality in the battle area, demands a conceptual relook at the deployment of modern high value warfighting assets. The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing several such new munitions that include Rudram Anti-Radiation Missile, Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) and ASTRA a state-of-the-art BVR air-to-air missile to engage and destroy highly manoeuvring supersonic aerial targets. The employment of precision guided ammunition at ‘Muntho Dhalo’ base played an important role in India’s victory in 1999 Kargil war. Precision strike of ammunition during 2019 strikes on terror camps in Balakot also ensured India’s success in the operation. Ammunition in modern battlefields once programmed can automatically take inputs, make course corrections and target the appropriate location at the right time. Earlier, only the size and explosive capacity of bombs mattered, but now their smartness is equally important.

The IAF’s focus on AI training and collaboration with academia and industry indicates a strategic approach to its integration

Most of the modern weapon platforms like fighter aircraft are expensive state-of-the-art systems which are highly capable with multiple capabilities resident in a single platform. With the passage of time, the obsolescence of systems and technologies in monoliths will require expensive upgrades. This is the challenge which the IAF will have to regularly address.

The vulnerability of monolith platforms like multi-role fighter aircraft or ISR platforms is tackled by distributing various capabilities and roles among a large number of low-cost, independent machines. These would be networked together as a package, either directly or through a central Combat Management System network, to accomplish a mission. The possibility of using cheaper commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment like single-use drones suitably modified as weapons instead of using military grade hardware. Distributed capability among a large number of systems in the battle arena would also reduce the capability loss per kill by the enemy, as against monoliths, where every kill would mean a substantial capability loss.

The confidence that the IAF reposes in the Tejas is borne by its order for 83 LCA Mk-1A which will have updated avionics, as well as an Active Electronically Steered Radar, updated Electronic Warfare suite and a Beyond Visual Range missile capability. The new variant will be capable of firing a plethora of weapons from increased stand-off ranges, precision munitions and BVR of indigenous origin. The LCA MK-1A will see a substantial increase in the overall indigenous content of the aircraft which will ensure a reliable maintenance supply chain support for enhanced availability of the platform. In the years to come, the LCA and its future variants will form the mainstay of the Indian Air Force.

BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

The sensor to shooter cycle has to be based on the ability to verify the trust and eliminate any man in the middle attack on the information. This is known as data provenance and is increasingly important in any information exchange within the armed forces which is being provided by the use of blockchain algorithms in the structures.

The aviation sector is a complex web of various participating industries who are partnering, collaborating & competing within themselves and generating an eco-environment for start-ups. The traceability of the origins of design, materials, manufacture, delivery routes in supply chain, unauthorised modifications etc to avoid counterfeits being deployed on the war fighter is to be ensured. With so many players in the Indian aviation environment there are bound to be areas of dispute and the obvious choice is to have Inter & Intra data of the industry on trusty blockchain. The Indian military aviation fighters’ programme in the Indian aviation industry needs to incorporate ab-initio a Block chained verified identity.

The development of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs) and autonomous systems like AURA is presented as a significant step towards bolstering the IAF’s capabilities in the next decade

The use of COTS hardware and software in aviation sub systems is gaining importance. Creating the provenance of every CPU, system mother boards, firmware component and the resident software is crucial in the entire loop from “cradle to cockpit”. With the increasing use of 3D printing in aviation manufacture the trust to ensure conformance and avoid counterfeits in the supply chain are addressed by deploying blockchain based process and secure the 3D printing systems. This at some time in the future soon will be used in the manufacture of military-standard components directly in the field for which India must be prepared.

India is embarking on its most ambitious indigenous military aviation project to build the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) with advanced stealth features as well as ‘super cruise’ capabilities. Production of fifth-generation jets is extremely complex and expensive. This is bound to create a competitive and collaborative aviation eco-system that has to be nurtured and regulated for efficiency from its inception. The trust and transparency in the aviation consortium of designers, developers, manufacturers, after sale support, MRO participants is very essential for the Atmanirbhar fighter in India. Blockchain implementation needs to be a strategic imperative in the Indian A&D industry.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)

AI’s capability to process a large amount of data in a very short time will be a crucial wartime advantage, allowing quicker and better decisions. First of all, AI’s capacity to react on machine speed will accelerate the pace of combat. Second, the current military structure and organisations are going to change as new concepts of operations evolve (eg. Swarm Drones). Third, AI may provide the opportunity to cope with a huge amount of data available for analysis. By addressing this data, AI systems will be able to provide results or solutions that humans may not be able to think about, especially during combat. This would then be an advantage over the enemy, as the machines will be more accurate and faster than humans in logistics, battlefield and decision making. Furthermore, with the help of AI, the military can perform high risk missions for a long period of time, something that cannot be done by humans.

Since India is just beginning its journey on integrating AI into its defence forces, the MoD has in the right spirit ordered for the introduction of AI training courses and AI training of the defence personnel, keeping in mind the need of our country to adapt to the modernisation process. By providing for a specific budgetary allocation, the MoD is envisaging a strategic and realistic integration of AI into the country thereby revolutionising our human and technical systems. India is home to world class academicians in computer science and engineering spread across the IITs, IISc, NITs and IISERs. An academia-industry-policy synergy is of utmost importance to realise the strategic, societal and cultural implications of AI in Aerospace. The IAF has established an AI Centre of Excellence at Rajokri, New Delhi, in collaboration with UDAAN (Unit for Digitisation, Automation, Artificial Intelligence, and Application Networking) for handling all aspects of Analytics, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Neural Networks and Deep Learning algorithms.

ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING OR 3D PRINTING

Most manufacturers in the aerospace industry utilise Conventional Manufacturing methods that leave a large amount of unused raw materials, thus wasting far more materials than it actually needs. 3D Printing methods however, use raw materials only needed for manufacturing the desired aircraft parts which save raw materials and minimising weight of the parts.

To meet demand for replacement parts, aircraft manufacturers keep an inventory of parts on hand. However, storing an inventory of extra parts either at an aircraft manufacturer or at a client adds to the cost of spares and deploys resources in its sustenance. While 3D printing is welcomed in military aviation, it will require key changes in ERP systems to control every element of the manufacturing, maintenance and support chain processes to manage the possibility of counterfeit parts entering the support chain. Certified materials and printers to make qualified metal parts don’t exist in today’s military MRO establishments. The unique benefits of rapid build time and unique microstructural control to avoid counterfeiting in the 3D printing processes cannot be fully realised with existing long airworthiness certification times. Accelerated Certification of Additively Manufactured Metals initiative must be undertaken by CEMILAC now for the 21st century.

AI IN E-MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (E-MMS)

The new era of Big Data and sophisticated analytics for predictive maintenance has drawn the interest of MRO because the modern war fighters are so reliable, it is almost impossible to obtain data samples for every type of fault. The most useful approach is to learn from the mass of healthy data in order to detect abnormalities or departures from healthy patterns. Traditional OEM analytic tools are decades old, not designed for massive data analysis and often not flexible enough to incorporate machine learning. These are ending “slowly.”

The existing e-MMS which is implemented in the IAF will need to be reviewed and plans formulated for big data analytics on the huge amount of data that it generates. The integration of IMMOLS with E-mms is part of the IAF project which will capture each other’s touch points in a seamless application for pan IAF weapon platforms. This integrated application would need restructuring using big data analytical disruptive mode. Wipro, IBM, Ramco, Infosys etc are software giants which can exploit this disruptive technology to better the military MRO in improving the combat potential of our war platforms.

IAF BIG DATA

With the IAF investing in integrated Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) capabilities, information overload and deluge of data is a possibility. The reconnaissance and surveillance tasks are carried out by the military prior to operations, the success of the mission depends on the correct analysis of the available information. Big Data analytics will quantitatively deal with this information overload as well as to qualitatively improve intelligence assessments by drawing out patterns and insights from data. “Battles in the future, large or small, may be decided by smart machines that learn, decide and act in real time, and augmented military systems that extend the human perceptive, physical and cognitive abilities,” and hence the need to by IAF to institutionalise data and carry out predictive analytics using artificial intelligence.

The IAF has its Integrated Materials Management On Line System (IMMOLS) and combined with the Electronic Management System (EMS) for its fleet maintenance a ready Big Data for analysis to achieve enhanced operational availability. If the Air Operations and Flight safety, structured as well as unstructured data is also integrated, new insights into enhancing the IAFs combat capability can emerge. A homegrown analytics from the Indian IT industry in various spheres will be an asset to the armed forces. Similar platforms and areas are there in the Indian Army and the Navy which can also be delved into. Opening up these avenues would be great idea for the ‘Make in India’ and the “AI for All” initiative.

UCAV& AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS

The various projects on UAVs by DRDO are in progress. Abhyas is a High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) being built by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE). HEAT offers a realist threat scenario for practice of weapon systems. LAKSHYA is a Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA), which is a reusable aerial target system. Nishant is a UAV also developed by ADE which is primarily designed for intelligence gathering, reconnaissance, training, surveillance, target designation, artillery fire correction, damage assessment, ELINT and SIGINT. Nishant is one of the few UAVs in the world in its weight-class capable of being catapult-launched and recovered by using parachute, thus eliminating the need for a runway as in case of conventional take-off and landing with wheels.

Autonomous Unmanned Research Aircraft (AURA) is an autonomous unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) being developed for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy under Project Ghatak which was initiated as a successor to the 2009 AURA. It is UCAV with long range and have properties of ‘Stealth’ which makes it almost undetectable by air defence radars. Unlike other UCAVs which are only armed with missiles the AURA will be capable of releasing missiles, bombs and precision-guided munitions. It will act as the ultimate ‘force multiplier’ and ‘game changer’ in any battle scenario of the future. The Project Ghatak programme is also meant to complement other programmes to provide the IAF with the best technically advanced UCAV which will form the backbone of the IAF in the next decade. DRDO has progressed the Tactical Air-Borne Platform for Surveillance-Beyond Horizon 201 (Tapas-BH 201) which was known as Rustom-2. It is also expected that most of the basic technological requirements for developing the UAV/UCAV will be tested on TAPAS programmes first before being implemented on to the AURA project. The DRDO is going to use the Kaveri engine to power this unmanned vehicle. The DRDO Netra is a UAV for surveillance and reconnaissance operations. It has been jointly developed by DRDO and ideaForge, a Mumbai-based private firm. ideaForge is also working on a more advanced version of Netra, which will have an increased flight time.

MILITARY SATELLITES

India has only two dedicated military satellites; the GSAT-7 (Rukmini) and GSAT-7A (Angry Bird) used by the Indian Navy and Air Force respectively. GSAT-7A satellite has enhanced the NCW capabilities of the IAF by providing seamless real-time communications support to the IAF’s fighter fleet, ground radar stations, operational bases and own Airborne Early Warning and Control System platforms. A sizable satellite’s transponder bandwidth is also being used by the army, which includes Army Aviation helicopters and UAVs. The GSAT-7B satellite under the Buy Indian (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured-IDDM) category likely to be deployed by 2026 would help the Indian Army enhance its surveillance in border areas. It will provide a backbone for a plethora of Indian army’s communication needs, from tactical communication support to deployed troops and surveillance/targeting control of remotely piloted aircraft, to Air Defence platforms, as well as operational communications between Formation Headquarters and strategic inter-Service communications. The availability of dedicated military satellites for all three Services, with planned future redundancies, indicates the focus and priority which has been accorded for ensuring an enhanced operational efficiency well into the 21st century.

AR & VR IN TRAINING

Virtual Reality (VR) environment is experienced through headmounted displays or other gear, limiting user interaction. Augmented Reality (AR) on the other hand, overlays machine-generated digital elements onto the real world, enhancing the user’s perception of reality. The combination of AR and VR creates mixed reality, where virtual objects interact with the real world. This immersive technology is transforming various industries, including aircraft maintenance where it significantly simplifies tasks in the complex aircraft environment. They can simulate complex procedures, such as disassembling and assembling aircraft components, without the need for physical equipment. It is revolutionary in skill development and maintenance training. The Vayu Agniveer training will benefit greatly by incorporating this mixed reality in reducing the training period and aid quick assimilation. IAF is now using immersive tech to train cadets at AFS Hakimpet. Various modules of IAF’s mission planning systems, along with weapons and radar systems incorporating mixed reality are being developed by defence startups using indigenous technology. This will mature for applications pan IAF in operational planning and training.

FINAL WORDS

Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), delivering a keynote address at a capstone seminar organised by the IAF and Centre for Air Power Studies in June 2023 has advocated “re-educating an entire generation of officers” to keep up with the “accelerated technology infusion” and “fight the tomorrow’s wars”. This sums up the adoption of latest technologies in progress towards transforming the IAF into a modern, 21st-Century Aerospace Power.