New Delhi: When it comes to training of Indian Air Force personnel, they’re far ahead of their Chinese counterparts, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh said today, but in terms of technology, “we are lagging behind and in terms of manufacturing (of war planes and other weapons) we are far behind.”
The frank assessment of the air chief marshal who took over a few days ago comes as reports of Chinese frontline fighters like the J-20 being placed in Tibetan airfields. The Chinese have developed the J-20 and so far, according to reports, have over 150 of them.
Asked about the indigenous manufacturing capabilities of Hindustan Aeronautics, which is making various versions of the Tejas (the IAF) is keen to have 200 so far, roughly ten squadrons, he said he had “no problem with HAL,” which he said had “genuine problems,” but added that a senior IAF there would help.
Asked about the shortage of fighter aircraft, the IAF being down to 30 squadrons, he said the plan to purchase 110 top-of-the-line ones was on, but they would have to make in India as per the atmanirbharata policy of the government of India. He said the IAF didn’t have a preference for a certain fighter, but it is always advantageous to have fewer types of them (the IAF has just bought 36 Rafales), but most important was “early delivery.”
6 Embrears to be purchased
The air chief said his force was looking for 6 Brazilian Embrears to be fitted with indigenously made eye-in-the-sky equipment and acknowledged that the IAF was short on AEW or early warning aircraft. A request would go to the Defence Acquisition Council headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh in the future, he added.