 The Indian Air Force or Bharatiya Vayu Sena was born in 1932, which makes it one of the younger Air Forces around has grown to one of the largest Air Forces in the world. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is a professional, highly-motivated force employing mainly western tactics and doctrine, it's combat effectiveness enhanced by Combined Air Operations (COMAO). Today, the IAF has a large number of elderly combat aircraft which need to be upgraded or replaced, lack of timely decision taking has resulted in major force level reductions over the next ten years, and modernisation programmes which are pilling up but not being realised.
Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters to the Indian Air Force , June 22, 2002.
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At the Forefront of nearly every IAF project is Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which is currently working on the Su-30MKI license production, Jaguar/Mig-27and Mig-21 Upgrades and developing indigenously aircraft like the LCA,ALH,HJT-36 IJT and MTA. If the Indian Air Force does go through with these projects, the IAF will become a very capable and dominant power in Asia. India's most important ongoing programme is Su-30 MKI Multi-Role aircraft, of which 50 will be delivered from Russia (28 already delivered) and 140 being licensed produced at Nasik, by HAL.
The first Su-30MKIs from Nasik are to be delivered to the IAF in 2004-05, with production increasing to a peak of 10-12 aircraft per year from 2007-08 onward. Production is expected to stretch to 2017-18. Implementation of Su-30MKI Project heralds a new phase in the current history of Indo-Russian military-technical cooperation. Designers and specialists from both countries have been working as the united team on development of technologically very sophisticated project. Another Joint-Venture between India-Russia is the co-development and co-production of a twin-turbofan transport aircraft called the MTA Cargo in Indian service.
Although it's not likely to fly for at least another five years, it will mainly satisfy Indian and Russian needs for a medium lift transport. Another ongoing programme is the LCA which has been continuously delayed and hit hard by the US Sanctions posed on India after it conducted Nuclear tests in 1998. Two Technology Demonstrator aircraft have succesfully flown and the Production Vehicle Aircraft PV-1 is in final stages of system integration tests at Aircraft Research & Design Center, HAL and will join LCA TD1 and TD2 in flight testing by the end of this year. HAL had already signed up a memorandum of understanding with ADA for a limited series production of eight aircraft with the first delivery scheduled for 2006. The IAF urgently needs to sign an order to purchase 66 AJT (Advanced Jet Trainers), so Indian Pilots can gain experience in lead-in fighter (Stage III) training.
Nowadays Indian pilots go through basic training (Stage I) on HPT-32 piston-engined trainers followed by (Stage II) on Kiran or Iskra basic jet trainer and lack a Stage III AJT for Lead-in-Fighter Training before advancing to high performance supersonic aircraft. This gap in advanced jet training is primarily responsible not only for unacceptable rates of flying accidents or incidents but has also contributed to a lower quality of flying training within the Indian Air Force. In a major step towards enhancing flight safety, the Indian Air Force has finalised plans to induct highly sophisticated flight simulators for transport and fighter aircraft for its training institutes, which will impart training in civil flying.
The IAF has also several upgrade projects planned, with the most important being the upgrading of 125 Mig-21bis aircraft to Mig-21-93 standard with improved avionics and BVR air-to-air missile capability which will bring the aircraft up to a 4th generation aircraft standard. India has recently decided to Phase out the Mig-23 and Mig-25 aircraft and no replacement will be purchased. Other additions to the Indian Air Force will include 10 Mirage 2000Hs, 37 Jaguars, up to 225 HJT-36 IJTs (Intermediate Jet Trainer), 6 Il-78s Midas Tankers and ALH 'Dhruv'. The Indian Air Force has an exciting future and will be watched closely by military observers around to world, as India is keen on a place among major players in the global aviation industry and producing very capable aircraft which will cause a concern to some of it's close neighbours.
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