US sale of F-16s to Pak worry India: IAF chief
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, July 20, IRNA
India-Pak-F-16s
The US government's move to sell 36 more advanced F-16s to Pakistan could not have come at a worse time for the Indian Air Force (IAF), which is in a tailspin with its fighter squadrons dwindling rapidly.
Apart from the indigenous `Tejas' light combat aircraft being nowhere near operational, the much-delayed IAF project to acquire 126 multi-role combat aircraft is also still to take off.
"The US government's approval to sell F-16s to Pakistan is certainly of concern to us. We will obviously have to factor the changed balance of power in our planning," said Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi in an exclusive interview with leading English daily `The Times of India' on Wednesday.
At the same time, he added, IAF is "adequately capable and prepared to give a dominating response to the provocative intentions of any adversary."
IAF plans "to retain its capability to dominate during any air operations" with faster induction of Sukhoi-30 MKIs, upgrade its existing fighters and acquire "force-multipliers" like the three Israeli Phalcon AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) and six more air-to-air refuelers (it already has six IL-78s), said ACM Tyagi.
The USD 5-billion American package to Pakistan incidentally also includes upgrading of 34 F-16s already present in Pakistan's combat fleet, apart from a deadly munitions package, including beyond-visual range missiles.
In addition, Pakistan is also going to acquire a large number of JF-17 `Thunder' fighters jointly developed with China.
In contrast, the Indian RFPs (request for proposals) for the USD 6.5 billion contract to procure 126 MRCA are yet to be issued to the contenders -- Russian MiG-35, French Rafale, Swedish JAS-39 Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon and, of course, the American F/A-18 `Super Hornets' and F-16 `Falcons'.
It will take another five to six years for the actual contract to be signed and another four to five years after that for the fighter deliveries to commence.
IAF, obviously, is worried. The number of its fighter squadrons (each has 12 to 18 jets) will touch a never-before low of 28 next year from a high of almost 40 two decades ago.
This has happened due to the delay in acquiring replacements for the aging MiG-21s, which constitute 45 percent of the around 700 IAF fighters that are being gradually phased out with MiG-23s.
Consequently, IAF is now even exploring some quick-fix solutions like procuring some additional Mirage-2000s or MiG-29s as a stop-gap measure. For his part, ACM Tyagi says several measures are being taken "to arrest the draw-down of combat strength."
"First, the delivery timeframe for Sukhoi-30 MKIs being manufactured by HAL has been compressed. Seven Sukhoi squadrons will be operational by the end of the 11th Plan," he said.
"Second, the RFP for 126 MRCA is likely to be sent out shortly.
"Third, IAF is upgrading its Jaguars, Mirage-2000s, MiG-27s and MiG-29s," he added.
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