Abhijit Bhattacharyya | IAF’s big challenge: Building world-class fighters in India

As fighter aircraft are high-tech, high-cost, high-maintenance, high-speed and high-risk operating machines, one must constantly assess the ambience where the Indian Air Force has its operating flight envelope. There are three Russian-origin squadrons of MiG-29 interceptor/air defence aircraft ; four Anglo-French Jaguar ground attack/strike squadrons ; six MiG-21 Bison multi-role fighter squadrons ; three French-made Mirage-2000 interceptor/air defence squadrons ; 11 Moscow-sourced squadrons of Sukhoi-30 MKI multi-role fighters, two squadrons of the French Rafale DH/EH and two squadrons of the indigenously-produced Tejas multi-role fighter in the IAF fleet. Understandably, the foreign-origin combat aircraft have always dominated the IAF fleet, despite New Delhi’s attempts to make indigenous fighters for over 50 years. This is why New Delhi has no option but to increasingly build its own fighters as no nation, particularly one of India’s size and expanse, can be eternally dependent on the goodwill of foreign manufacturers for the latest, technologically superior fighter jets. Given Beijing’s unrelenting hostility towards India across the Himalayan highlands, which poses an existential threat to New Delhi, with Chinese garrisons positioned within Indian territory, Indian needs to make the indigenous production of fighter jet is a national mission, not just a mere trading enterprise to earn quick profits.