400 more fighter jets in Indian Air Force’s vision 2030

WolfPack86

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Grappling with a drawdown of its fighter jet fleet, India has firmed up a plan to plug the capability gap over the next 10 to 15 years. A top defence ministry source said the Indian Air Force was working towards the target of inducting around 400 warplanes by 2030 to buttress its depleting force levels that set off alarm bells about the country’s ability to tackle a combined threat from China and Pakistan.

T he count of IAF’s fighter squadrons ha s shrunk to 33 (a round 640 fighters) compared to a desirable strength of 42. T he squadron strength is likely to come down to a mere 19 (around 380 warplanes) by 2027, as revealed in a Parliamentary panel report earlier this month.

The source said the IAF would get 120 Tejas light combat aircraft, another 120 twin-engine mediumweight aircraft to be built in India in collaboration with a foreign manufacturer, and an equal number of single-engine fighter planes. India is currently negotiating a deal with France for buying 36 Rafale fighters and 72 Sukhoi-30 fighters are on order. B ridging the capability gap is vital for the IAF that is saddled with ageing Soviet-era fighters.


T he IAF also wants to deploy a total of 15 AW AC S (airborne warning and control system) over the next decade. T he IAF currently operates three Israeli Phalcon AW AC S mounted on Russian IL-76 heavy-lift planes. The system has a range of 400km. Itis also on course to induct two Brazilian Embraer airborne early warning and control (AEW &C ) system aircraft. The AEW &C systems developed by the DRDO are being installed on Embraer-145 jets imported from Brazil.

In M arch 2015, India took the first step towards developing an indigenous AW AC S, with the defence acquisition council giving its go-ahead to a Rs 5,113 crore project involving mounting two such complex surveillance systems on the European Airbus A330 platform. Airbus Defence &Space was the only bidder for the AW ACS India programme, making it the first single vendor project to be cleared by the NDA government.

“T he finance ministry has raised some objections but the defence ministry has given a clarification emphasising the operational need for more such platforms,” the source said. As per IAF’s plans, eight AW AC S are required for the eastern border, and five for the western boundary. The IAF wants these monitoring systems to provide 360-degree coverage, which is far more than that offered by (AEW &C ) system aircraft.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/natio...vision-2030/story-VTRviJ0xb4E3EPA6Uzc3HL.html
 

Kshatriya87

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120 Tejas + 72 Sukhois. That makes 10 more squadrons, total 43. So the gap is filled right there. Why do we need 400 more fighters again?
 

Zebra

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120 Tejas + 72 Sukhois. That makes 10 more squadrons, total 43. So the gap is filled right there. Why do we need 400 more fighters again?
Sir, try to get info about that magic number -----> 43. :facepalm:

From where the hell they get it.

BTW , only 43 squadrons are not going to help India anyway.
 
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WolfPack86

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India must select F-18 Advance Super Hornet it is cheap and advanced. F-18 advance Super Hornet can easily fill gap in Indian Air Force Operational Requirement. PM Modi must seal deal with US when he visit US in June 2016.
 

Zebra

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India must select F-18 Advance Super Hornet it is cheap and advanced. F-18 advance Super Hornet can easily fill gap in Indian Air Force Operational Requirement. PM Modi must seal deal with US when he visit US in June 2016.
Enough is enough now.

PM Modi must sign the deal and fix the final go for F/A-18 deal in June 2016 visit to US.
 

Abhijat

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Sir's,

Could anyone provide for the said "IAF's vision 2030" document ?

Would like to read about the role and capabilities IAF is looking for.
 

Tactical Frog

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Hmm. If that source is good then the plan must be 120 Tejas + 120 Gripen + 120 Rafale ! Impressive combined with the large Sukhoi fleet.

I tend to think that Gripen and Tejas are a a bit too similar but there is a long new piece on Livefist arguing for the opposite. India ' s pick !
 

Zebra

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Zebra

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2030? :shock: Damned! I'll be dead and gone by then!
Sir, why 2030 only...!
Why not 2025 or 2035.

Whenever anyone talk about their future targets to achieve (specially in defence / military), then they talk about 2030 as a yardstick year.
There must be something in it.

And I don't know what / why.
Correct me.
 

sasum

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Vision hi dikhate raho. Fact is if tomorrow China decides to give us a bloody nose, we will take it lying down again like in '62.
 

sasum

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Hmm. If that source is good then the plan must be 120 Tejas + 120 Gripen + 120 Rafale ! Impressive combined with the large Sukhoi fleet.

I tend to think that Gripen and Tejas are a a bit too similar but there is a long new piece on Livefist arguing for the opposite. India ' s pick !
I wonder whether they want to build a lean mean fighting unit or a museum of Aircrafts! A little this.. a little that..
 

smestarz

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Since we already have "heavy" "light" and "medium" already there in some quantity, rafale might not make the cut, not even 36, so get in touch with reality for Rafale-less IAF
Gripen is not going to be purchased or produced, but people forget is Tejas MK II, PAKFA/FGFA and AMCA. Those are the ones in the list,

Guess the motto is ,, India Free of Congress party, IAF free of Rafale .

Hmm. If that source is good then the plan must be 120 Tejas + 120 Gripen + 120 Rafale ! Impressive combined with the large Sukhoi fleet.

I tend to think that Gripen and Tejas are a a bit too similar but there is a long new piece on Livefist arguing for the opposite. India ' s pick !
 

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