HAL Must Speed Up Construction Of TEJAS MK2 & DRDO & ADA To Focus On AMCA jets
By
Colonel Awadhesh Kumar, Special Forces
India must cancel the illogical drama of tendering for 114 fighter jets afresh, instead order four more squadrons of Rafale. The energy now needs to be diverted to speed up the induction of TEJAS MK1, MK1A and TEJAS MK2.
To maintain a qualitative edge over its adversaries. Dependencies on foreign manufactures needs to be curtailed and eventually brought down to zero. In fact Tejas versions should become our first fighter for export.
At the same time the designing focus should shift to the fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft – AMCA – stealth fighter jets. Aim must to be get a prototype up and flying at the earliest. Even the Indian Navy will require the AMCA to complement the naval Tejas which will be entering service soon.
Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Finance and HAL must consider the timeline to make the fighters available to the IAF at the earliest. Investments in manufacturing for both the Tejas and SHREYAS ( name fir AMCA ?) must be made accordingly and necessary budget support must be provided.
The LCA is a fourth generation+ fighter jet and will be well utilized by the capable pilots of the IAF and easily match what China can throw at us. The LCA Mark-2, which is now being converted to a fighter with higher punch, must have its first flight well before 2023.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and others involved in the project have to to deliver on time, sloth has to vanish and cannot be tolerated any more. The LCA Mark 1A, of which 83 is going to be supplied to the IAF, must start entering the IAF by 2022.
The MWF will move forward with a higher speed, with the experience and technologies developed for the LCA Mark 1 and the LCA Mark 1A. All the rigorous testing on this aircraft should not be taking as much time as it took for TEJAS MK1. Mass production should commence latest by 2026..
For the IAF, which is grappling with both a drop in its squadron strength and its qualitative edge over adversaries, the combination of Tejas and Rafael with SU30 MKI, Mirage 2000 and MiG 29 will provide the boost.
China has two so called fifth generation fighter jets. The twin-engine heavy fighter, the J-20, is already in service and in squadron strength in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). China is also developing a medium weight fifth generation fighter, the FC-31, which is likely to be exported to potential customers.
Pakistan could be the first customer.Though we need not worry much about the PLAAF, we need to focus on SHREYAS with all our resources. However TEJAS MK2 should not be neglected at any cost. This aircraft will be able to match the Chinese 5th generation fighters easily because PLAAF has huge FORCE REDUCER in the form of Tibetan high altitude airfields.
The work on SHREYAS the AMCA design has been going on since long. The IAF should finalize the qualitative requirements and give full support to the project. By 2040 all the MiG-29, Jaguar and Mirage in the IAF will be phased out. That is about 200 fighter jets. Even first of the Su-30s will be 40 years old and on its last leg. The fifth generation AMCA, therefore should start entering Squadron service by 2032.
Though for sound reasons India backed out from the joint development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) with Russia, the IAF needs a fifth generation option quickly. So we need to manufacture SU57 just like SU 30 both as supplement and later as replacement.
So by 2040 around 6x Squadrons of TEJAS MK1 / 1 A, 12x Squadron of TEJAS MK2, 15x Squadron of SUMKI, 6x Squadron of Rafael and around 9xSquadrons of SU 57 and 9x AMCA would make IAF a very confident force to face any threat from China – Pakistan simultaneously.
