The IAF is a past master in the "Stall & Spin" tactics....it wants to bury the Tejas Mk 1 & wants to go for Mk2 which is its Stall Tactics and I can bet that when Mk2 takes to the skies it will bury it saying its out of relevance what with Rafale & FGFA in the scenario.... when Mk2 arrives it will start hankering for AMCA saying only AMCA fulfills its requirements not even Mk2!!
The whole IAF drama is coz if it starts inducting the Tejas Mk 1 the GoI will slash the numbers if not cancel the Rafale all together!!
As for the mentality of IAF towards Tejas Mk2....they dint even want to support/fund it forget about inducting it in the future..... now when the Youngest Brother (read I.N. ) is getting a better powered plane their superiority complex gets shaken into such a fury that they have put logic to rest by denoting Tejas Mk1 a Lean In Trainer !! :shocked:
I am not in a mood to point out all the tech achievements/advancements we have achieved through Tejas Mk1 to IAF but I certainly hope that Modi Govt. will not let the whole Marut drama unfold all over again but will fund not only the Kaveri but "encourage" IAF to induct Tejas Mk1 & Mk2 in numbers.
The fundamental hard facts of life is that self reliance is the best self defense !! This is the reason why I admire I.N. a lot coz even though get the lowest percentage of budget yet they have realised the value of self reliance and have taken concrete steps towards realising it. By the way IN's role in future will surpass IAF & IA's coz IOR is going to be much bigger and volatile theater compared to anything else.
USA & China know this that is the thought behind the "Pivot to Asia" tactics...US wants to strengthen its presence and the Chinese does nt want to let that happen coz 60% of world trade/commerce flows to IOR!!!
To put the self reliance in perspective we ought to look at China that is challenging the might of USA with only 150 Russian Sukhoi's (Su27 & 30's) which is like less than 10% of its entire fighter/interceptor/strike component (1500 +)!! The rest all being indigenous fighters!! Recently and in near past China has taken a very aggressive stance towards USA (
Mid-air posturing sparks US-China verbal volley | idrw.org) and what does it have in its arsenal?? Even though IAF has 250 + Su-30 MKI's which is arguably the best Air Dominance in the World we still want more!!
I am surprised with IAF's "west is best" attitude coz they either dont trust the man - machine combo (pilot skill's) or want us to forget the lesson they themselves taught the fancied USAF who went back with an entirely new perspective regarding even the 3rd Gen Mig 21 Bisons after Cope India as quoted below from link :
The Aviationist � Cope India: when India's Russian jets achieved a surprising 9:1 kill ratio against U.S. F-15s !!!
IAF jets weren't equipped with the AESA radar either and they were Su-30MKs, less advanced than the MKIs that the Indians did not want to dispatch to Cope India.
The Flanker wasn't the only aircraft that the Eagle's drivers faced in mock air-to-air combat: "The two most formidable IAF aircraft proved to be the MiG-21 Bison, an upgraded version of the Russian-made baseline MiG-21, and the Su-30MK Flanker, also made in Russia," Snodgrass explained to AW&ST.
Low radar visibility, instantaneous turn rate, acceleration and the helmet mounted sight combined with high-off-boresight R-73 air-to-air missiles were among the factors that made the upgraded MiG-21 a deadly adversary for the U.S. F-15s.
The fact that Tejas Mk1 & Mk2 are going to be better than the Bison in all aspects should give the IAF brass/ pilots reason to be more confident in their skills that could even thrash the F-15's with Bisons in 2004!!
Another crucial fact is that PLAAF / PAF's fighter strength will be their indigenous fighters in the near future so the much vaunted claims of IAF about "Threat Perception" have to be taken in the right context by GoI..... Wars are not won only through physical aggression but also economical means and India cannot afford 2 30 Billion USD fighters like Rafale & FGFA!!
To justify my last paragraph the biggest weapon China has over USA is ...
China's Treasury Holdings Climb to Record in Government Data - Bloomberg
China's holdings of U.S. Treasuries increased $12.2 billion to a record $1.317 trillion in November, data released on the Treasury Department's website showed.
The figures, scheduled for release at 9 a.m. tomorrow in Washington, were inadvertently posted on the Treasury's website. Japan's holdings rose $12 billion to $1.186 trillion, the figures showed.
China's swelling foreign-exchange reserves, reported today to have reached a world record $3.82 trillion at the end of December, may sustain the nation's appetite for U.S. debt. Capital inflows and intervention to limit gains in the yuan have contributed to China building up currency holdings that are a third of the global total.
"Large interest-rate differential and steady appreciation of the renminbi contributed to large arbitrage inflows into China, a situation made all the more easy with China's increasing financial integration and renminbi internationalization," UBS AG Hong Kong-based economist Wang Tao wrote in a report on China's data.
China's pace of foreign-exchange reserve accumulation will be slower this year due to the Federal Reserve's monetary tapering, likely widening of the yuan's trading band and tighter controls on arbitrage activities, Wang said.
The Chinese are the most craftiest and incisive thinkers and their economical success story is a well thought out process...their indigenous defense production has made them from the largest IMPORTER to the 3rd largest EXPORTER today (
How to transform the country from world's largest defence equipment importer to major exporter - The Times of India)
The government's recent decision to deregulate manufacture of a number of items used by the defence forces will result in new players and SMEs entering the sector. Easy entry will result in an increase in the number of manufactures, with the benefit of competition that will improve both quality and cost-effectiveness. This will also encourage them to seek export markets for their products.
Socio-economic growth and a credible defence capability achieved through self-reliance are fundamental for a nation to secure a globally respectable position. In a world where a few developed countries enforce control regimes on defence equipment and technologies, it is imperative for a country like India — a growing economy with formidable capability, to maximise indigenisation and self-reliance in defence equipment. Further, with defence exports becoming an increa-singly effective diplomatic tool in assuring regional peace and secu-rity, it is crucial for India to be-come a global defence exporter.
A small country like Israel, which gained independence at almost the same time as India and with a population less than 1% of India's, today accounts for 10% of total global defence exports. China which until 2006 was the largest importer of defence goods, is today the fifth largest defence equipment exporter. Paradoxically, India, with its huge pool of technically qualified, globally competitive manpower, in dire need for employment for its population, has emerged as the largest importer.
India has all the attributes of becoming a major exporter of defence equipment. Considerable investments have been made over the years in creating indigenous defence manufacturing infrastructure in the form of DRDO labs, DPSUs, ordnance factories, some highly reputed educational institutions and a few industries in the private sector. The large young population can provide skilled, cost-effective manpower for the defence industry and the huge SME base can contribute effectively, both directly as well as in collaboration with large system integrators.
Recent amendments to the defence procurement policy have provided a new thrust for indigenisation. Introduction of major programmes in the 'make' category, allowing participation of Indian public and private industry, is a big step in the right direction towards developing cutting-edge technology. Defence offsets and the proposed liberalisation of FDI in the defence sector must be leveraged judiciously to enhance indigenous capabilities.
The defence industry is capital intensive and characterised by a cyclical nature in order placement for domestic needs; it typically needs a large customer base to be competitive and to sustain business. This can be achieved only when both domestic and export markets are opened for industry.
A well-defined policy to promote defence exports, complying with international agreements such as the Wassenaar Arrangement and Missile Technology Control Regime, will provide the necessary international legitimacy.
It is time now to shed the public vs private sector mindset and consider the entire defence industrial base in India as the 'national defence sector'. It is important that domestic programmes are opened up for competition wherever possible. SMEs capable of developing niche technologies should be encouraged, while the stalled pro-posal to identify platform builders and system integrators — Raksha Udyog Ratnas, must be immediately implemented.
To safeguard the interests of the defence industry in the private sector, and to derive the maximum benefit from synergies, it is essential to eliminate the conflict of interest inherent in the current structure of ministry of defence. The department of defence production must be made independently responsible for equitably addressing the concerns and synergising strengths of the country's defence industrial base, including the private as well as public sectors. It should also be held accountable for achieving preset time-bound targets for indigenisation and exports.
Globally, respective governments strongly promote sales of their defence exporting firms without discriminating between private and public sectors. UK Trade and Invest and SIBAT-Israel, are good examples. It is common for heads of state of developed nations to actively promote sale of their defence products. In 2013, for the first time, top officials of DRDO led an Indian defence industry delegation to ADEX 2013 in Seoul. Such initiatives should be encouraged and strongly supported by the political leadership.
Increased emphasis on R&D and innovation is vital for achieving self-reliance in defence equipment. In order to realise the untapped potential in indigenous technologies, DRDO must be authorised to form partnerships with organisations of their choice for cutting-edge technology deve-lopment, while simultaneously allowing use of their facilities on commercial terms by companies in the defence field.
Defence exports are often used as a diplomatic tool either through supplies as goodwill gestures or through soft loans and lines of credit. This policy has been used extensively and effectively by China to expand its presence in the Indian Ocean Region, Africa and Latin America. India should evolve its own "Integrated Defence Production and Export Policy" learning from the success stories of countries like China, Israel, South Africa and South Korea.
India's approach to defence exports will be guided by changes in the geopolitical situation, as we build stronger diplomatic ties, particularly with nations in the Indian Ocean Region. If the government and national defence industry embrace the challenge, India can not only effectively meet domestic needs but also emerge as a major exporter of defence products. We need a major thrust — a national mission on defence equipment exports.
So all my dear fellow Indians who want to see India as a major power in the future please read and learn from the tiny Israel, how it survives in the most hostile neighbourhood and how China counters the mighty USA with its domestic weapons!! These two are case in points for us to wake up... IAF only thinks about imported weapons and thats why Rafale with its 30 Billion USD price tag is a strain on out already strained economy and does nt justify a 4.5 Gen Fighter purchase..... IF we really have to invest why not invest in the FGFA a 5th Gen Fighter to counter the PLAAF and make mince meat of PAF!!
The money saved by cancelling Rafale should go into a spanking new and high production Tejas Line and not the old Jag production line...after all the delay in SP's is due to HAL's cramped productions!
The money saved should increase the FGFA numbers instead of the reduction that IAF wants to balance the Rafale deal... an absurd trade off 5th Gen fighter to a 4.5 gen fighter!!
The money saved should also give us the AMCA to replace the Mig 29's & Mirages in the future... I m sure Russians will be happy to help with the domestic engine if we give them couple of billion USD's saved on Rafale!!
MORE OVER THE MONEY SAVED SHOULD BE INVESTED IN THE DOMESTIC ARMS INDUSTRY/ INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT SO THAT WE TOO BECOME EXPORTERS AND THEREBY HELP LIFT UP OUR ECONOMY AND THE EMPLOYMENT GENERATED THERE OFF!!
I hope Modi Govt does whatever it take.....revamps the HAL, OFB, DRDO et all and tell IAF & IA to follow the IN model!!
