It’s Spring, a time for flowers and hope, and for the Indian industry, an opportunity to tie up with foreign OEMs for manufacturing technologies and their induction towards Make in India.
Aero India 2025 is the 15th edition in the series, designed to encourage and promote the Indian industry, including MSMEs and SMSEs, to gain knowledge about components and parts used in various defence systems, and then to make them in India with quality matching those of foreign OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Seems simple but not easy, as our work culture is rather tardy, and poor quality is often visible in products we commonly use even for day-to-day requirements.
There are also some critical raw materials which we have to import, and some components which would be cheaper to source from outside.
Notably, tanks, vehicles, ships, aircraft are all technology intensive, and while foreign biggies participate in shows like Aero India to display a market for them, they also show the sophistication and excellence in the quality of their products. Research and development takes a long time towards perfection, and the vendors would have spent much time, effort and money already. We do not need to duplicate the effort in R&D, and it’s best to cut time, acquire what is readily available, with manufacturing technologies. This is true for all systems, parts and components, big and small.
That’s what Make in India is about, and that’s the USP of Aero India 2025 as rightly mandated by the Government.
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, has lamented the shortfall in combat jets, but also emphasised that it is best to produce them in India and without any more delays.
IAF has an approval for buying 114 new fighter aircraft. Its strength is 12 squadrons short, at around 30 against the sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons. It can take years even to reach this number while at the same time, replacing the aircraft that need to be phased out. Actually, given the hostile scenario around India, we need more than 42 squadron strength calculated as ideal for IAF years ago.
In fact, I and Air Marshal Ashok Goel (Retd), my colleague on the India Strategic Editorial Board, had calculated in 2007 that IAF must plan for 300 new combat jets, given the attrition rate in numbers due mostly to their age. Our estimate, in 2025, is still the same.
There is a lot of hope in HAL building the numbers in LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) variants and then AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft). The Air Chief has emphasised full involvement of the private industry in this effort.
The key is to make up for the time lost, at least three decades, due to the politically motivated allegations over the Bofors acquisition which resulted in paralysis in the routine acquisition process. Fortunately, the Government is taking firm decisions now, and we do hope the IAF has delivery of aircraft to its choice and with flying speed.
The fundamental in manufacturing is that a product must look good to Inspire confidence, and must work good to enable our pilots to win a war.
— Gulshan Rai Luthra
