IAF To Aim For 54 Fighter Squadrons In The Foreseeable Future
In the future foreseeable future, it seems that IAF is aiming to deploy 54 fighter squadrons to have the ability to comfortably take on both China and its lackey Pakistan simultaneously on both the fronts.So as per the Indian Air Force Chief ACM Bhaduria, IAF is planning to acquire 450 fighter aircraft for deployment on the northern and western frontiers of the country.
36 Rafales and 20 Tejas Mk1 should be joining the IAF by end 2021. Foloowed by 83 Tejas Mk1A, 1x SU 30 MKIand one squadron of refurbished MiG29 and topping up of the Mirage 2000s. So in 2026 our line up should be :
• 16x SU30 MKI squadron
• 3x Mirage 2000 Squadron
• 4x MiG29 Squadron
• 6x Jaguar Squadron
• 2x Rafael Squadron
• 6x Tejas Mk1A
The Air Chief has recently stated that “AMCA, we are looking at six squadrons, so that puts it close to 100 (aircraft). So, in the indigenous domain areas which are already frozen in terms of our requirement, in terms of our understanding with DRDO in the fighter (segment).”
So our production effort must gear to provide the following to IAF by 2035, which us not at all a difficult task :
• 12x Tejas Mk2 and Mk3 squadrons
• 6x AMCA Squadron
• 4xSU57MkISquadron
To the above will have to be added 2x Rafael squadron as additional purchase from France, as by 2035, IAF will be retiring all 4x Mig29 squadrons and atleast 3x Jaguar squadron. Thus the grand total in 2935 should be 54 fighter squadron.
From 2035 onwards, AMCA should be replacing the balance of 3x Jaguar and 3x Mirage 2000 Squadrons and add a few more to inch towards 63 Squadron Mark. By 2040 our own Advanced HCA should start replacing the SU30 MKI.
The Air Force Chief also added that : “In the trainer aircraft segment, we are looking at 70 HTT-40 as a support aircraft to the Pilatus fleet. So, we are looking at 370 odd indigenous aircraft.”
The IAF chief said that currently it was the best time from the point of view for indigenous production and said, “It is now the perfect time for industries to respond and come up with solutions which are rapidly put in place and come up to the challenge of delivering these aircraft.”
With firm Make In India plan, thankfully now no foreign vendors will be in a position to foist any obsolete technology on the IAF in guise of 114 MRMCA.
