IAF: Falling out of the sky!

All air forces have accidents, but accounts of Indian warplanes crashing on training and sortie flights have become almost everyday news. The latest incident happened on 5th March, 2015, when a SEPECAT Jaguar crashed in Haryana state - the pilot surviving after ejecting for unspecified reasons, and earlier a MiG-21 jet crashed in Gujarat on 31st January 2015 which was preceded by a MiG-27 fighter jet crash on January 27, 2015 in Rajasthan.

The main culprit is these flyblown episodes are in large part Russian made planes and especially the vintage MiG-21's, which sadly is the backbone of India's fighter fleet. The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 was conceived and developed in the early 1950's by the erstwhile Soviet Union as an interceptor, in response to the more agile and sophisticated American fighter jets. The first prototype emerged in 1954. It is generally regarded as the most prolifically produced combat supersonic jet in aviation history and had the longest production run of any combat aircraft in the world, which began in 1959 to 1985 over all variants. The pedigree of this amazing jet is impeccable. 

However, the MiG-21 which is the combat backbone of the IAF for decades has seen so many accidents that it earned the ignominious sobriquet of a "Flying Coffin". An astonishing 490 MiGs, and planes of other types have crashed over the last 20 years. While over 200 IAF pilots have lost their lives during the last two decades, deaths have declined sharply over the years. IAF also operates other MiG designs such as the MiG-29 & Mig-27 and has since retired the MiG-23 & Mig-25 fighters. The loss in terms of value of aircraft and service property is assessed to be several thousand crores. That is just pouring a lot of money down the drain.

What is wrong with the MiGs?

• Over the past 50 years, India has bought 976 MiG-21s, and over half of them are gone, mostly because of accidents. Other Air Force's don't fly the MiGs as much as India and ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union and with it the cold war, several flaws in the production process emerged such as poor quality control and reliability, tardy spares supply and difficulty in flying these jets caught up with the force. The once admired and feared combat jet was proving to be an expensive piece of liability.

• India has about a 100 MiG-27s still operational, and all of them were grounded in 2005-6 when serious problems were discovered with the MiG-27's Russian designed engines.

• While Russia does not have the reputation for making high quality equipment, they have insinuated India for poor quality production by the local industry and is not as per Russian specifications. Indian defence industry is largely controlled by state run units and it is no secret that much of the military equipment made is pretty shabby by world standards.

• The delay in developing or procuring trainer aircraft is another count that has to be factored. Rookie pilots go straight from propeller driven trainer aircraft such as the antiquated HAL HPT-32 Deepak, to high performance jets like the MiG-21. This is made worse by the fact that the MiG-21 has always been a tricky aircraft to fly especially with regard to its high speed landing.

• Though the Indian pilots are trained to exacting standards still the MiGs are not designed and built to be used on a regular basis during peacetime.

• The MiG-21, MiG-29 and the MiG 27 aircraft are distinctly different designs, all are difficult and dangerous to fly and expensive to maintain. Over the last few years, all Indian MiG-23s were retired because of reliability and safety problems.

Note the chronology of accidents of IAF aircraft crashes in the recent past:

• Jan 31, 2015: A MiG-21 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Bed village in Gujarat's Jamnagar district
• Jan 27, 2015: A MiG-27 fighter of the Indian Air Force crashed in Barmer on Tuesday, injuring a motorcyclist. The pilot ejected safely.
• Jan 22, 2014: A Jaguar combat jet crashed near Bholasar village in Rajasthan's Bikaner district. The pilot and co-pilot ejected safely. According to defence ministry, pilots detected a technical problem while landing at Nal airport in Bikaner and ejected.
• Oct 14, 2014: A Sukhoi-30 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force crashed at a village near Pune with both the pilots ejecting to safety.
• Oct 1, 2014: A Jaguar combat aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed while on a routine sortie from Bhuj air base but the pilot ejected safely.
• Mar 28, 2014: The US-made C-130J Super Hercules military transport aircraft crashed near Gwalior after it took off from Agra, killing all five people on board.
• Nov 8, 2013: A MiG-29 crashed near Jamnagar in Gujarat but the pilot ejected safely. The aircraft was on a routine sortie from the Jamnagar airbase.
• Jul 24, 2013: A MiG-29 fighter aircraft today crashed near Lalparda village in Gujarat's Jamnagar district. The pilot ejected safely.
• July 15, 2013: A MiG-21 Bison fighter aircraft crashed while landing at Uttarlai airbase in Rajasthan's Barmer district, killing the pilot. The aircraft had taken off from the airbase on a routine training sortie and crashed while landing.
• June 7, 2013: A MiG-21 aircraft crashed in Rajasthan's Barmer district, with the pilot ejecting safely. The aircraft took off from the Uttarlai airbase and was on a routine sortie. It crashed 40 km from Barmer.
• Feb 19, 2013: A Sukhoi SU-30 combat jet crashed in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district but both the pilots ejected safely.
• Feb 12, 2013: A MiG-27 aircraft crashed in Rajasthan's Barmer district but the pilot ejected safely. The aircraft was on a routine training sortie when it crashed near Allawani Ki Dhani after taking off from Uttarlai airbase.
• Nov 30, 2012: A Jaguar aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Mangam in North Sikkim. The pilot bailed out safely.

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Top 10 Weapon Systems Developed by DRDO

The Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is responsible for the development of technology for use by the Indian armed forces. In recent years it has been criticized for the delayed projects and cost over runs. Because of DRDO’s poor performance in successfully delivering weapon systems and meeting timelines country fulfill its 70% of defense needs by imports from various countries.

Apart from these criticism most of which are irrational and unfair to the part of DRDO, there are many weapon systems which were largely managed by DRDO have seen considerable success with many of the systems seeing rapid deployment as well as yielding significant technological benefits. DRDO has achieved many successes since its establishment in developing other major systems and critical technologies such as aircraft avionics, UAVs, small arms, artillery systems, EW Systems, tanks and armored vehicles, sonar systems, command and control systems and missile systems.

It is very difficult to short down top 10 weapon system developed by DRDO as it has developed so many weapon systems. Based on the technological challenges, strategic importance, defense needs and level of completion of the systems these are top 10 weapon systems developed by DRDO.

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Top 10 Weapon Systems Developed by DRDO

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1. AGNI-V - Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)

Agni-V is a inter-continental Ballistic Missile with a range more than 5000 km. Agni-V is part of the Agni series of missiles. It is a solid fuelled and can be launched from a canister Tatra Truck. So It can be launched within five minutes of threat received. It can carry a nuclear war head of 1.5 tons.

This missile is the biggest achievement of DRDO and it is very important for the nuclear deterrent and strategic posturing. Agni-V would also carry MIRV (multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles) payloads being concurrently developed.

With this missile in armory India can Strike any part of China and Pakistan from its territory. This missile was a result of more than 30 years research in missile technology. This missile has put India in the elite club of nations who possess Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles. This missile can be used for India’s ballistic missile defense shield.

Project Status: Under Trials

2. Light Combat Aircraft - TEJAS

This is the costliest and longest going programme of DRDO. It is a 4+ generation fighter plane developed by Aeronautical Development Agency. Tejas is a lightweight multi-role jet fighter. It is a tailless, compound delta wing design powered by a single engine. It came from the LCA programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India’s aging MiG-21 fighters.

It integrates technologies such as relaxed static stability, fly-by-wire flight control system, multi-mode radar, integrated digital avionics system, composite material structures, and a flat rated engine. It is supersonic and highly maneuverable, and is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary combat aircraft. Navy and trainer variant of the plane has also been developed and they have received initial operational clearance.

To keep is mind the future requirements of the country, ADA is currently working on Mark-II and Mark-III of Tejas aircraft. These versions will have 5th generation features such as stealth, upgraded avionics, modified aerodynamic designs and AESA radar.

Project Status: Initial Operational Clearance is given (IOC) for production

3. INS ARIHANT - Nuclear Powered Ballistic Missile Submarine

The Arihant class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines being built for the Indian Navy. The lead vessel of the class, INS Arihant, was first launched in 2009 and began sea trials in December 2014. Four vessels are planned and are expected to be in commission by 2023.

The Arihant-class vessels are India’s first indigenously designed and built nuclear submarine. There are only 4-5 countries have technical capabilities to developing a nuclear powered submarines. So it’s a big technical breakthrough for the development of larger submarines in the future.

Arihant has four vertical launch tubes, which can carry twelve (three per launch tube) smaller K-15 missiles or four larger K-4 missiles. The K-4 is a longer range missile (3,500 km) and it is undergoing trials. Submarine will be fitted with USHUS sonar, developed by DRDO lab, for detecting and tracking enemy submarines, surface vessels, and torpedoes and can be used for underwater communication and avoiding obstacles.

Project Status: Under See Trials

4. RUSTOM - II - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Rustom is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) being developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment in Bangalore for the three services of the Indian Armed Forces. Rustom-II is developed by India on the lines of the American Predator drones.

I will be equipped with air to surface medium range missiles to destroy enemy targets. For target acquisition and ranging it has sophisticated Medium & Long Range Electro-Optical Payloads, Laser Ranger Finders with high resolution and precision stabilized platforms.

Rustom-II is equipped with various advanced technologies and systems which includes Digital Flight Control and Navigation System, Automatic Take off and Landing, Digital communication technologies for revealing data links to control and operate the mission and relay UAVs.

Project Status: Under Trials

5. ARJUN - Main Battle Tank

The MBT Arjun is a third generation main battle tank developed by Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), a DRDO lab in Chennai, for the Indian Army.

The Arjun features a 120 mm main rifled gun with indigenously developed Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot ammunition, one 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, and a 12.7 mm machine gun. It has a four-man crew. Automatic fire detection and suppression and NBC protection systems are included. Arjun Tank is equipped with high resolution day and night vision devices which is supported by laser range finder.

The Mark-2 of Arjun has been developed which is an advanced third generation main battle tank and an upgraded version of the Arjun main battle tank with several improvements. Its development was completed in 2 years owing to experience gained from developing the first version. The top speed of the tank would be at 60 km/hr compared to 40 km/hr in Arjun mark 1. It had outclassed the T-90 during the trials. The new variant possesses superior missile firing capabilities and can fire missiles accurately up to a range of 2 km.

Project Status: Under Production

6. BRAHMOS -  Super Sonic Cruise Missile

The BrahMos has been developed as a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organization of India and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise of Russia under BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is named after two rivers, the Brahmaputra and the Moskva.

It is the world’s fastest cruise missile in operation. The missile travels at speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0. The land-launched and ship-launched versions are already in service, with the air and submarine-launched versions currently in the testing phase. An air-launched variant of BrahMos( Fitted with Su-30 MKI) is planned which is expected to come out in 2016 and will make India the only country with supersonic cruise missiles in their army, navy, and air force.

A hypersonic version of the missile namely BrahMos-II is also presently under development with speed of Mach 7 to boost aerial fast strike capability. It is expected to be ready for testing by 2017.

Like the BrahMos, the range of BrahMos II has also been limited to 290 km to comply with the MTCR. With a speed of Mach 7, it will have double the speed of the current BrahMos missile, and it will be the fastest hypersonic missile in the world.

Project Status: Under Production for all the three services

7. NIRBHAY - Medium Range Subsonic Cruise Missile

Nirbhay is a long range, subsonic cruise missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s premier laboratory Aeronautical Development Establishment in Bangalore. Nirbhay is an all-weather low-cost long-range cruise missile with stealth and high accuracy. The missile has a range of more than 1000 km and It can be launched from a mobile launcher. It starts flying off as a rocket and then turns into an aircraft. For that it has foldable wings.

It is capable of being launched from multiple platforms on land, sea and air and shall be inducted into Indian Navy, Army, and Air Force. In particular, Nirbhay is being adapted for the Su-30MKI. The missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The missile supplements Brahmos by delivering warheads farther than the 290 km range of Brahmos. This missile can fly at the height of a tree so its difficult to catch it by enemy radar.

The development of this missile is a breakthrugh for India as this missile is comparable to Pakistan’s Babur and USAs Tomhawk. It will be mounted on Su-30 MKI which will make the fighter planes more lethal.

Project Status: Under Trials

8. DHRUV - Advanced Light Helicopter

The Dhruv Helicopters have evolved from The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) program for an indigenous 5-ton multirole helicopter was initiated in May 1979 by the Indian Air Force and Indian Naval Air Arm. HAL were given a contract by the Indian government in 1984 to develop the helicopter.

The Dhruv has become the first major Indian weapons system to have secured large foreign sales. In 2004 HAL stated that it hoped to sell 120 Dhruvs over the next eight years, and has been displaying the Dhruv at airshows.

With a unit price at least 15 percent less than its rivals, the Dhruv has elicited interest in many countries, mostly from Latin America, Africa, West Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific Rim nations. Air forces from around 35 countries have made inquiries, along with requests for demonstrations. Flight certification for Europe and North America is also been planned in order to tap the large civilian market there.

Project Status: Under Trials

9. Ballistic Missile Defence System

Prithvi Advanced Air Defence System is for engaging the targets in the exo-atmosphere region

The Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme is an initiative to develop and deploy a multi-layered ballistic missile defence system to protect from ballistic missile attacks. It is a very ambitious and technology intensive project as this kind of capabilities are with only 2-3 countries in the world.

Introduced in light of the ballistic missile threat from Pakistan and China, it is a double-tiered system consisting of two interceptor missiles, namely the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for high altitude interception, and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile for lower altitude interception. The two-tiered shield should be able to intercept any incoming missile launched 5,000 kilometres away.

Advanced Air Defence System is for engaging the targets in the endo-atmosphere region

The two-tiered BMD System consists of the PAD, which will intercept missiles at exo-atmospheric altitudes of 50–80 km and the AAD missile for interception at endo-atmospheric altitudes of up to 30 km. The deployed system would consist of many launch vehicles, radars, Launch Control Centres and the Mission Control Centre. All these are geographically distributed and connected by a secure communication network.

Project Status: Under Trials

10. INSAS - Indian Small Arms System

INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) is a family of infantry arms consisting of an assault rifle and a light machine gun. It is designed by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune. It is manufactured by the Ordnance Factories Board at Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli, Small Arms Factory Kanpur and Ichapore Arsenal.

Development of this rifle was a big achievement for the country as it replaced all the outdated rifles and their export was also stopped. INSAS has been included in the top 10 weapon systems developed by DRDO because of its mass induction in the services and export to various countries.

The assault rifle and LMG variants have been adopted by the Indian Armed Forces, Central Armed Police Forces, Indian Paramilitary Forces and police forces. On the international level India has exported a certain number of these rifles to Nepal, Bhutan and Oman. About, 300,000 units are in currently use by the Indian armed forces.

Project Status: Services are Using the rifle

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Dassault RAFALE - LEMON or DEMON

LEMON

There has been several hostile press on India's multi-billion dollar Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) acquisition program. Dassault Rafale after intensive testing and evaluations won the fiercely contested competition to supply 126 multi-role combat aircraft (could go upto 200) to the Indian Air Force (IAF). Initially the Defence Ministry had allocated  82,000 Crore (US $13 billion) for the purchase of these aircraft, making it then the world's single largest military aircraft deal. The MMRCA tender was floated with the idea of filling the gap between the LCA Tejas and the much feared & revered Sukhoi Su-30MKI air superiority fighter.

Clearly the RAFALE is one of the worlds most advanced new generation omni-role combat aircraft available on the market (this is what Dassault Aviation says), it is a balanced multi-role aircraft that would be able to replace/phase out several types of combat aircraft in use by the IAF. The contract has a 50 percent offset clause built into it. Which means the deal will bring considerable amount of money in French high-tech into India’s defence production sector. Complete transfer of technology is mandatory so cutting-edge knowhow can be transferred to India’s own advanced fighter program.

The Rafale, which means "gust" in French, seems like the perfect choice. The Rafale was shortlisted by the IAF because of its superior technology which fulfilled its requirement to acquire a true Multi-Role capable aircraft which include air to air missions, air to ground and air to sea interdiction Further, India's unique and dynamic geographics entails a platform to be able to perform in the most adverse of conditions which includes searing heat and dust, humidity and bitter cold of the Himalayan region. IAF favored the French as it is already well-equipped with French Mirage-2000, the Rafale is operationally and logistically very similar to its predecessor. Moreover, the Mirage’s played a decisive role during the Kargil war and the Rafale itself has seen its share of action in Afghanistan and Libya. Lest we forget, France has been India's true friend and has supported it on several international issues.

More significantly, the IAF Mirage 2000s boasts an impeccable safety record over the past 30 years.

DEMON:

• Firstly, the cost of a fighter is a vital piece of information, the bill for the Rafale deal has doubled from $10.40 billion in 2009 to around $22 billion today, and this will exceed $30 billion over the years, in other words each Rafale will effectively cost approximately $238 million. That is an enormous amount of loot for a developing economy like India. Conversely, an advanced country like the UK procured the Lockheed Martin's F-35B (V/STOL) version of the stealth fighter (Vertical and/or Short Take-off and Landing) for $190 million a piece, which is clearly a full generation ahead of the Rafale. South Korea also signed a deal with Lockheed Martin to buy 40 F-35 fighter jets for about $7.06 billion which works out to roughly $177 million per unit. Japan and Israel have also inked similar deals with LM for the purchase of these stealth jets.

• Additionally, cost of several secondary requirements has also to be factored along with the primary deal, these include maintenance cost, transfer of technology pricing (ToT), software source codes, flight control laws, weapons store, helmet-mounted heads-up-display and the exclusive AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar. Moreover, ToT provision in foreign defence contracts are fallacious since core technologies in reality are never transferred. HAL on the other hand is also incapable of absorbing advanced technologies as historical evidence proves that it only assembles aircraft from imported kits. This lacunae on HAL's part incidentally is the main bone of contention between the negotiating parties.

• Dassault Aviation is under pressure since they haven’t been able to make a single aircraft sale outside their own country excepting Egyp. Several countries in the past have junked the deal with France which include Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, Singapore, Norway, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and even Morocco! Certainly the MMRCA deal will bring immense cheer to the program!

• France is desperate to sell the fighter as absence of a substantial deal such as India's MMRCA procurement will cushion Dassault production lines from a hard landing or else it will have severe ramifications on the French aerospace industry, and as a direct result of a possible cancellation it will propel the already high price to unaffordable levels even for the French Air Force.

• Rafale acquisition will further exacerbate the existing force structure and logistics nightmare routinely faced by the squadrons in operations owing to the complexity of maintaining a diversified combination of combat aircraft.

• It is also alleged that France choreograph the air war strikes on Libya & Afghanistan to showcase Rafale's capabilities in a bid to influence India’s decision making process on the fighter aircraft's finalization. 

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the above failings renders the aircraft utterly unfit for the IAF and it will be prudent for the current dispensation to cancel this overblown deal as it would send a clear message to vested interests in the military bureaucracy, HAL & foreign firms that India cannot be taken for a ride anymore.

Finally, it is hardly outrageous to say that the Rafale in the end seems a Demon masquerading as a Lemon.

Source IDN

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