INDIAN AIR FORCE ALWAYS SUPPORTS ATMANIRBHARTA (Part 2)

Written by: Air Marshal M Matheswaran AVSM VM PhD (Retd)

Chairman & President,      

The Peninsula Foundation

Chennai                             

 

The IAF has been an ardent supporter of indigenisation since independence. Indigenisation involves not just design and production alone, as commonly perceived. It has a lot more effectiveness and importance when seen from the perspective of self-sustenance and indigenous solutions. These are enumerated below as various examples of success stories:-

 

– Right after independence the IAF and HAL together, retrieved a fleet of abandoned B-24 liberator aircraft and created IAF’s first long-range bomber capability. It was a herculean task as no country, including the OEM, was willing to support it. The IAF and HAL used their WW II expertise, a strategy of reduce to produce, and more importantly took the risk of testing, evaluating, and operationalising the fleet.

– India’s first basic trainer aircraft HT-2 was designed, developed, and manufactured by HAL with IAF support. It became IAF’s work horse basic trainer for the next four decades. This experience allowed IAF to support subsequent replacements such as the HPT-32. The new aircraft HTT-40 will soon enter IAF service.

– IAF supported the early development of an indigenous jet trainer, HJT-16 Kiran, in the 1960s. This is a success story. The Kiran entered IAF’s service in 1972 and has been the work horse of training IAF pilots for nearly half a century.

– HF-24 Marut was an ambitious indigenous fighter program taken upon by the IAF and the HAL in the late 1950s. It turned out to be one of the finest designs in the world but was hampered by a lack of suitable engines denied by Cold War geopolitics. The HF-24 program experience laid the foundation for subsequent indigenous design and Testing institutions such as ASTE, SDI, ADA, and the DRDO. The HF-24 proved itself very well in the 1971 war.

– IAF laid the foundations for indigenous capabilities in maintenance and repair through its various BRDs (Base Repair Depot). These have worked to reduce the vulnerability of import dependence by addressing MROs through import substitution for various components and consumables. BRDs also graduated to a full overhaul of engines, aircraft, and missile systems, including life extension programs. Aircraft like MiG-23 BN, MiG-29, Su-30, Mirage 2000, etc were taken up for MRO. Similarly, MRO of engines of Russian and French aircraft was also undertaken.

 

IAF has driven the development and operationalisation of the following programs:

• • LCA and its further derivatives.

• • ALH, LCH.

• • Weapons development and integration such as air-to-air BVR missiles, Brahmos, PGMs, etc.
• • Indigenous radars for air defence – successful development of Rajendra radar and operationalisation. This experience is now leading to the development of a series of ground-based and mobile radars for tactical air defence.

• • DARIN – a fully indigenous nav-attack system for the Jaguar was developed entirely with IAF participation. Major developments in subsequent versions.

• • IAF conceptualised and operationalised the avionics, sensors, and weapons integration in the Su-30 MKI. Although this involved various imported systems and components, the design and integration of equipment from three different countries was a herculean task. Experience from MiG-21 Bison and Mig-27 upgrades proved very beneficial.

• • IAF’s role in driving indigenous air defence missile system AKASH to conclusion and operationalisation was instrumental.

• • IAF laid down the conceptual parameters and subsequently led the operationalisation of the communication grid – AFNET. This led to the operationalisation of IACCS. This is a big success story.

• • IAF has been the leader in putting together an advanced NCW system and validated the operational concepts through a pilot project. This has defined the development and induction of SDRs and networking philosophy based on the MANET concept. Secure airborne communicatihave has been a weak area in the past. The SDR should address it.

• • LCA – FBW is an indigenous success story. IAF’s role (ASTE and NFTC) is very important in its fructification.

• • Support for AESA radar development for fighter aircraft.

• • Indigenous AEW – operationalisation.

• • EW development – a weak area so far. However, ground-based systems are reasonably successful.

• • IAF has encouraged indigenous UAV development in the private sector and has energised the development of ‘Swarming’ algorithms and autopilot technologies through competitive processes to encourage innovation.

• • New programs with active IAF involvement – Tejas Mk 1 A, 2, and AMCA; Light Transport Aircraft – Saras Mk II.

• • IAF’s involvement in strategic missile systems through testing and validation support.

• • IAF’s role in the development of BMD.

• • IAF’s role in successful testing of an anti-satellite weapon.

• • Work on establishing a Space control centre in Bhopal.

 

The challenges are many:-

– Political, bureaucratic, financial, and structural.

– Weakness in materials

-Import dependence on critical technologies

– Engines, weapon sensors, airborne radar, and EW equipment.

 

Suggested Approach.

IAF cannot compromise on the operational capability to support indigenisation. However, indigenisation can be supported through a process that works parallel without compromising the need for assets to ensure operational capability. This means that indigenous systems will be inducted as secondary systems to generate user data for further improvement toward first-rate capability. This needs a long-term strategy with consistency and continuity. This is a huge challenge given the various vested short-term interests of stakeholders.

 

Thankful to 

Air Marshal M Matheswaran AVSM VM PhD (Retd)

 

Link to the previous article on the same subject:

INDIAN AIR FORCE ALWAYS SUPPORTS ATMANIRBHARTA

 

Suggestions and value additions are most welcome

 

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