(An article published some time back in Sachikhabar)
We have the TEJAS now with us, a super duper BIRD, Second to None. India cannot afford to let it go the HF24 way. For a two front war we need 65 fighter Squadrons, 45 is a vintage thing. Therefore with the aircraft in the finals and before things start floundering once again, screws have to be tightened. To meet the Squadron numbers at the fastest and the Cheapest, Tejas production lines have to be standardized and production speeded.
Therefore the need of the hour ( though it should have happened eons ago ), the control of the LCA Tejas programme should be taken away from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Aeronautical Development Agency. It should be handed over to IAF with full Command and Control ( as per military parlance ) or Hire and Fire ( as per Corporate parlance ). The decision should be made as early as possible with Cabinet approval and issued officially by the Ministry of Defence promptly. This will ensure full production in the shortest time and will also end the blame game over the project delay. Thus will also ensure accountability with authority going hand in hand.
As per the Jungle telegraphy, the idea of an IAF official being given the command and control of Tejas programme has been floating around for some time now. The proposal being mooted is that the IAF will depute an officer of an Air Marshal rank to head the Tejas project. The head of LCA Division, currently an officer at Executive Director level and Programme Director of ADA, an H-level scientist, will then report to the Mission Commander.
“The government wants to bring HAL and ADA together. IAF needs Tejas in large numbers and the only way to achieve this is through a fresh look to overcome delays. The structural gap between HAL and ADA, a prime cause of Tejas delay, has to be bridged and only IAF the user can do it.
With Tejas yet to be given the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) which will make it a complete fighting machine, the IAF has been waiting for decades, handicapped to fight the air battles, in case it happens, thus jeopardizing National Safety.
The FOC deadlines have slipped many times and it is unlikely that ADA will tick off the pending points even by December 2018. HAL has promised defence minister that it would deliver 16 aircraft this year (2018-19). The IAF will now get to infuse new ideas to ramp up the production. HAL have to deliver seven fighters (SP-10 to SP-16) from the initial operation clearance (IOC) block and nine from the FOC block (SP-21 to SP-29). Also the IAF-HAL stalemate over trainers continues, which is likely to delay the delivery of first set of trainer from the IOC block (SP-17 to SP-20). Even the Raksha Mantri is keen that the production numbers should touch double digits this year.
While the IAF needs the Tejas as of yesterday, it won’t be easy for it to run things if the responses from HAL is negative. As per HAL any disturbance to the production and design process will be ‘disastrous.’ However why they have faltered and failed continuously ? A designer attached to the project said ‘cultural differences’ will be a flash point with an IAF official at the helm of affairs. Yes, it will be but military precision drills ensures full obedience even from obstinate ASC or Artillery mules.
“The management of an IAF Squadron, where-in non-unionized military personnel work, is totally different from unionized military set up in HAL. Factory Act and the labour laws play a key role towards the management of HAL workforce, which is not the case with IAF,” as per a HAL Chap.
Well then why have the Air Force Act only for the IAF. Like GREF of BRO, we can incorporate HAL too under the AF Act……Section 51 of Constitution says that all Indians can be asked to come forward and defend India.
Some feel the introduction of an operational-level official will complicate matters, considering that HAL is a complex organisation that has a lot of interaction with its sister divisions…….can it be more complex than running the IAF…..impossible.
“Leading a project does not mean leading one facility of HAL. The success depends upon close coordination between other divisions of HAL. IAF coming in will be an administrative nightmare because of structural incoherence of introducing somebody at operational level. We feel the focus may shift from manufacturing to ROH (Repair and Overhaul) support. KRI (key risk indicator) of IAF is ROH management. Tejas production may get impacted by this mindset,” says an engineer…….all red herrings if the super highest order. Much before HAL, it was the IAF that was manufacturing the HS748 AVROS at Kanpur.
An IAF project management team (PMT) is functioning out of ADA from 2004, monitoring the progress of production series aircraft. The team is currently headed by an Air Marshal. IAF says emotions have no role in operational matters and it needs Tejas fighters at a faster production rate.
“With the squadron (No 45 Squadron, Flying Daggers) moving to Sulur, we cannot now run the show at the same pace. The squadron needs to be strengthened and all teething issues sorted at immediately. The production and design agencies — HAL and ADA — must step on the gas,” says an IAF officer.
While IAF minced no words on Tejas delays, it is no secret that it also made many changes with their operational needs…..yes operational needs will keep changing. No enemy is going to inform you of his intensions through love letters. You need to keep anticipating and keep adapting.
“That’s the advantage with a homegrown programme. What’s wrong with it? Finally our boys will have to fly it. Our needs will change with times. We are bothered about the safety of the man in the cockpit and the machine. Many people have emotions attached to Tejas. Emotions don’t work in fighter programmes,” says an IAF officer.
Sources said IAF now wants a SDR (Software Defined Radio) onboard all FOC platforms, a latest addition, which was not envisaged earlier. Yes it will happen at every step and needs to attended to. To survive the fighter needs to adapt, at times with hardly any warning.
Days of Accountability is now finally arriving.
