The transporters and the eye in the sky
By Colonel Awadhesh Kumar, Veteran Special Forces
The Indian airspace is now guarded by a network of several integrated air command, control and communications systems (IACCCS) Centres. These have real-time link with several types of ground based early warning and surveillance radars, Aerostar mounted long range warning radars, ballistic missiles early warning radars, unmanned aerial vehicles flying at very high altitudes, AEW&C/AWACS aircrafts and finally surveillance satellites. Information received from all sensors are continuously fused by a complex system of computers to provide the latest air situation along with an analysis to assess the threat situation and decide the most appropriate counter measures.
Except for the aircrafts and the UAVS rest of the assets function nearly round the clock. Even the UAVS have very long endurance and the very high altitude of their gives a very long range. In short comparatively fewer are needed to ensure a round the clock coverage of our airspace. However AWACS and AEW& C aircrafts neither have the range nor the endurance to cover the entire airspace with just a few numbers. Presently the existing three AWACS and another three AEW& C provide cover for just a very limited period in the chosen Sectors.
However with the recent successful testing of air-to-air refuelling on Embraer transport aircraft on which our Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) systems have been mounted, the Indian Air Force AEW& C or the “Eye in the Sky” can now stay airborne for extended periods. The IAF’S success in the field has greatly increased its operational capability. It means that presently even with a fewer numbers of such aircrafts IAF can keep our skies much safer. Roughly speaking with just one refuelling, one aircraft can maintain patrol station for nearly 8 hours.
The ultimate aim of the IAF is to have a larger sized AWACS aircraft based on a bigger and heavier transport plane and accordingly IAF has 3x IL76 based AWACS already operational with 3 more on order. Hopefully by 2021 onwards our DRDO will achieve the capability of fabricating bigger AWACS. Thus now is the ideal time to zero in and select the right aircraft for this job. Keeping the range of the AWACS radars in mind along with the endurance and the varied geographical area over which they will be operating, We will be needing 24 aircrafts in 50 ton lift capability to provide 24×7 AWAC coverage of the entire Indian air space including Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
IAF also requires 4 to 6 squadrons of transport aircrafts in 50 ton lift capability, a vital force multiplier for not only the Indian Army but also for the IAF for fighting a two front War. This means another 48 to 72 transport aircrafts. To this needs to be added the most obvious remaining force multiplier that is the Airborne Refuellers of which ideal will be 36. During an intense two front war these refuellers will be required to re fuel fighters aircrafts, deep penetration bombers and AWACS in not only the North Western, South Western, Central and Eastern theatres but also most likely over the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and towards Malacca strait.
Thus there being a requirement of 108 to 132 aircrafts in 50 ton variety, aim must be to make most of them in India and thereby lay the foundation of making the future fully designed and indigenous heavy lift aircrafts within the country itself. An ideal candidate for this seems to be the latest IL 76 MD 90 A. However for competition we may give a look to Airbus 330 MRTT also.
The above requirements are as important as the building up of the fighter squadrons. Hence right decision is required in the right time frame and build up must take place starting with a few refuellers and AWACS every year along with the pure transporters at least twice in numbers every year to give us the total numbers of all types in 2030-2035 time frame, if not earlier.
