Russia is fast losing its dominance in Indian skies as the Indian Air Force is sticking to its guns on inducting 127 Rafale fighter jets from France and turning to the domestic military industry to supplement its requirements.
Defence sources told The Hindu that despite an aggressive counter campaign by the British and Americans, the Indian side is firm about wrapping up the Rafale deal. The Rafale has made the grade because it is a safer twin-engine aircraft, which the IAF wants to fly for the next 40 years. Besides it has the teeth to undertake multiple missions including long-range air strikes, facilitated by powerful radar jammers that are part of the plane’s electronic warfare suite.
The French have modified the Rafale for atomic weapon delivery, which opens up the possibility of its role in imparting “second strike” capability, which is central for validating India’s posture of credible nuclear deterrence. The life cycle costs have also been a major factor in persuading the IAF to go in for the Rafale.
“When issues of maintenance, including fuel consumption and structural reliability in its entire life cycle were taken into account, it was found that the Rafale was cheaper in comparison to its competitors from Russia and Britain,” the sources said.
The IAF has been tailoring its procurements to establish the doctrine of air dominance — a belief that it must have the capability to aggressively monitor and destroy emerging threats, quickly establish freedom of manoeuvre in hostile airspace and undertake punishing deep strikes on high value targets, which would undermine the adversary’s war-fighting potential.
The Russians are aligned with this doctrinal slant, with the Su-30 MKI forming the core of the IAF’s strike force, supplemented by the air superiority Mirage-2000 jets and the Jaguar bombers. In the transport helicopter sphere, the Russian Mi-17s outclass most of their competitors, the sources observed.
“In the field of aerodynamics, the Russians are unbeatable, but the benefit this imparts to dog fights is now hardly relevant as modern air combat is conducted at long ranges,” the sources observed.
High maintenance costs, resulting, for instance, from fuel guzzling engines, deficiencies in avionics and shortfalls in the durability of airframes, are persuading the IAF to look for alternatives.
Consequently, instead of another batch of IL-78 air-to-air refuellers, which are central for extending the strike range of fighter aircraft, the IAF has declared its preference for the French A330 MRTT refuelling planes. The IAF is also finding the conduct of mid-life upgrades of the Mirage-2000 and the Jaguars more rewarding as the airframes of these planes are proving stronger, making them more reliable and cheaper in the long run.
The IAF’s focus on spawning an internationally competitive domestic aviation industry is also diminishing its reliance on Russian imports, routed through Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). “We were persuaded to go in for the Rafale partly because there is a genuine transfer of technology element in the deal that can energise domestic aviation industry, especially in the private sector,” the sources said.
Anticipating a loss of turf, the Russians are, nevertheless showing signs of mounting a riposte by developing weapons in partnership with Indian companies, taking advantage of the 49 per cent stake that foreign companies are now allowed in Indian defence industry. During a visit to New Delhi last month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said in a course of an interview that Moscow would strengthen its “strategic presence” in India by undertaking various projects, including “joint development” of weapons and military equipment.
