IMHO, CAS ops require tactical air assets to be available in tandem to ground ops, which requires for any personnel to be familiar with groundOps. I believe that army should be given authority to purchase and maintain at-least two squadron worth of Apache Block 3s on both fronts, western and north-eastern fronts.
Among it's arsenal, it should have not just Apaches but HAL Rudra and LCH too rather than IAF having it.
On the North eastern front,
If chinkies try to move it's armored columns quickly, it would be better to have our boys some CASs, even two apaches can bring havoc to ground, let alone entire squadron of Longbows using it's weapon package to slow down the mechanized column to pierce the defense.
When requirement of service ceiling is high, deploy some HAL Rudra or LCH.
On the western front, Aah so many applications!
It will prove to be the best asset army has ever purchased, unless IAF cry babies poop all over again.
- In J&K, militants can be picked up from anywhere, they cannot hide, there thermal signatures will be all over the displays of a longbow, all it would need is to fire those 20mm turret. Concrete will pulverize like ash.
- Our boys don't have to lay out there bodies in open to protect civilians, because a threat from above is alone itself a psyOps in militants mind.
- Providing unprecedented air cover for groundOps.
- For covert missions, they can be sent for extraction of our special forces in POK region or provide "hot" extraction with those good engines.
- Best counter to multi-spectrum insurgencies, especially the hybrid warfare tactics by ISI trained rats.
- All weather reconnaissance.
- If ISI even try to equip them with portable manpods, highly unlikely ... but if they do, Longbows are equipped to counter it effectively.
- Scrambling them will requires less time in the valley.
- Army understand it's doctrine much better than IAF, thus will utilize these assets at full potential if and when required.
Bottom line is, army should be given some form of CAS assets, it will prove very effective. Future wars with pak will only see our mechanized columns pulverizing there blockades with CAS on active role to sweep the path.
What's in for the IAF?
I believe, IAF should remain to provide air superiority over long range and mostly short skirmishes or full blown war. But CAS is something which requires more active role in "close proximity" and good understanding of how groundOps are done, which only army knows.
IAF will also be relived that they don't have to shift focus to groundOps for CAS and can focus on maintaining air-superiority.
Where IAF should play it's role is to train the army aviation corps guys with some basic air tactics for heli roles. Like navigation, using the onboard avionics and evading RPGs or worst ... manpods, paving the way for mechanized columns and infantry.
When War is nigh:
That doesn't mean they won't be used for all the three military services. A joint command could use it's potential to exercise these assets for every role it might be useful for.
