Alarm Bells

It takes a lot for a military chief to go public with his grievances—especially under the Modi regime. That Air Chief Marshal AP Singh recently did so highlights the severity of the crisis in the Indian Air Force. He has warned that the IAF is struggling to maintain its operational edge, making it imperative to fast-track acquisitions and plug the equipment shortfall.

The Modi government recently formed a committee, chaired by the defence secretary, which has already submitted a report that has been classified as “Secret.” This classification indicates that the crisis is so grave that it needs to be hidden from the public. The committee has done its job. Now, the political leadership must act.

In 2011, the IAF sent a proposal to the defence ministry to increase its sanctioned fighter aircraft strength from 39.5 to 45 combat squadrons. The rationale for this was that India should be prepared for a two-front war—a collusive threat from China and Pakistan. The Manmohan Singh government, which raised additional forces and built border infrastructure along China, sanctioned 42.5 squadrons. India currently has 31, with a very poor rate of inducting new fighter aircraft in the past decade. There are no off-the-shelf foreign procurements planned either. In 2016, the defence analyst Ashley Tellis assessed the IAF’s requirement to be at least sixty squadrons.

China has advanced at an astonishing pace, and it is not just about the numbers. With the unofficial debut of two sixth-generation stealth combat jet prototypes in December, China has gained an edge over the United States. Their official designation remains unknown, but analysts have christened them J-36 and J-50. At the annual Air & Space Forces Association’s Warfare Symposium in Colorado earlier this month, top US Air Force officials were emphatic about the urgency of developing their own version. “We have some choices to make as we observe what China has produced, and we can presume we know what that’s for—for air superiority,” General Kenneth Wilsbach, who heads the USAF’s air combat command, said. “What are we going to do about it? I don’t believe that nothing is an option.”