DEFENCE NOTES

New Delhi, 12 November 2007

 IAF Breaks New Ground

TOWARDS BECOMING CONTINENTAL FORCE

By Radhakrisha Rao

As pointed out by the IAF Chief, F.H. Major, over the years the responsibilities of the Air Force have not only increased  tremendously but the force’s area of operations might go up to the South China Sea. Suffice to state, that the IAF is preparing the ground for operating beyond the home-base.

On the issue of using outer space to augment the capability of IAF, Major said, “Having sensors in the sky gives us a lot of strength. We have a lot to learn. We are talking to the army and the navy for the joint use of the command. It is going to take time. The scope for putting weapons in space is as wide as space .For the moment we are not thinking on those lines”.

Of course, the significance of the successful anti-satellite test carried out by China in early 2007 as part of its ambitious plan to exploit the outer space to boost its “strategic punch” has not been lost on the IAF. The state owned Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as well as the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are expected to make an important contribution to the aerospace command through their know-how, expertise and hardware.

To begin with, the Indian Aerospace Command, considered a force multiplier by the Indian defence establishment, would make use of a string of satellites being operated by ISRO for a variety of end uses including communications, earth observation, weather watch, and navigation. Further into the future, the Indian Aerospace Command is expected to build is own constellation of satellites designed for communications, surveillance, reconnaissance, weather monitoring and navigation.

Moreover, if everything goes as planned, India’s first exclusive defence satellite  Cartosat-2A designed for surveillance would be launched along with an Israel-built military reconnaissance spacecraft by the four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) before the end of the year.

The stunning success with which the US-led allied forces made use of a string of satellites to realize their goals during their operations in the Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq has nudged the IAF to go in for an Aerospace Command for putting in place a net-centric warfare strategy. Clearly, a network-centric warfare capability would not only help expand the strategic reach of IAF but also make for its air dominance in the areas of interest.

The rapidly evolving net-centric warfare concept centres on the coming together of separate communications systems under a single, composite synchronized network. This in sharp contrast to the traditional platform-centric network based on a separate and often non-interoperable network-centric warfare, thus paving the way for a faster and more efficient strike capability.

The Indian Navy too, has rolled out its net-centric warfare plan. In fact, the Navy has been in discussion with the ISRO for a satellite system to support its operations with a particular reference to getting the coverage of the entire Indian Ocean region. In the ultimate analysis, by using both the space-based assets and the ground supporting system, the Indian Navy seeks to interlink armament, intelligence and the communications set-up of the  warships and flotillas, whether in mid-ocean or on shore.

The IAF on its part plans to make use of the UAVs with a laser designator and a combat aircraft with laser-guided bombs as a lethal force multiplier to sustain its air superiority. The Israel-built Searcher and Heron UAVs in service with the IAF can easily cover all types of terrain in the Air Force’s area of interest and provide real time surveillance and targeting. As a logical extension to the use of the UAVs, the IAF plans to build a significant level of capability in the area of UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles).

Importantly, the IAF along with the Indian army and navy plans to work towards the integration of fire power resource to ensure optimum effect on the target. Similarly, efforts are on to exploit the advances in the areas of communications, computers, command and control and information and interoperability (C412) with a view to get a holistic picture of the battle space and hit the targets with a high degree of precision in real time.

On another front, intelligence, surveillance and the reconnaissance (ISR) system that would help monitor the movement of enemy formations would be realized through the extensive use of air and space platforms .Of course, the key to the success of the operations would be held by the GPS System which helps the defence forces to beam their positions into a central system.

Significantly, during the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the entire reconnaissance information including the tactical UAV imageries were analyzed at a central facility and transmitted back to the ground forces with a minimum loss of time.

By all counts the network-centric operations paves the way for information sharing across multiple levels of the traditional echelons of command and control. Significantly, the availability of accurate and detailed information at all levels holds the key to the success of network-centric operations. The IAF is now studying the aerospace commands and network-centric warfare concepts of other countries.

Coming to the brass-tacks, the Air Force which is striving to become a force with more lethal power, plans to retain only three types of combat aircraft in its fleet — the Russian-made Sukhoi, the home-grown fourth generation Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and the 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), the process for the acquisition of which has already been initiated. The idea behind this philosophy is to trim down the inventory so that the complexity involved in maintaining various types of fighter aircraft is reduced. Currently, the IAF fleet flies eight types of aircraft.

Added Air Chief Major for good measure, “In the future, we will have a few lethal weapons so that maintaining them will be easier. Typically, we are looking at a fleet comprising the Su-30, LCA and MMRCA.”

However, as a stop-gap arrangement, the IAF has taken up the upgradation to extend the service life of the existing aircraft. “The Jaguars and Mig-27s have been upgraded. We are now negotiating the upgradation for Mig-29 and Mirage-2000,”quipped Major.

The IAF is also expecting the first of the 66 Hawk AJT it has ordered from BAE Systems before the end of this year. The induction of the Hawk AJT would fill a vital gap in the area of training the combat aircraft pilots. In fact, the increased number of mishaps involving the MIG aircrafts has been pinned on the lack of an advanced jet trainer.

According to the contract India has signed with the BAE Systems, 24 of these trainers will be supplied in flyway conditions while the rest will be produced by the Bangalore-based aeronautical major HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd). The IAF is also preparing for the induction of the Phalcon Air Borne Warning and Control System which Israel would deliver next year.

In the meantime, the Government has approved the proposal for the development of a fifth generation fighter aircraft as a joint enterprise between India and Russia. The air launched version of the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile Brahmos is now getting ready for trials with SU-30MKI combat aircraft platform.

On its part, the DRDO has decided to initiate work on the development of the Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA) with stealth features. The MCA would make use of the technologies developed for the LCA. Similarly, the development of a Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) by HAL would add to the fighting punch of IAF.

There is no gainsaying that opportunities and challengers of the future drives the IAF to look beyond the Indian skies with advanced technological systems and innovative warfare strategies. ---- INFA

(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)