Indian Air Force these days is going through little tough times. Its required squadrons don’t meet the number of proposed squadrons, extended Rafael deal which is still going on a slow speed, aging aircrafts like MiG-21, MiG-27 which has to be replaced as soon as possible and the most common these days, the aircraft crashes, a serious matter of concern as India lost 7 aircrafts in last 3 months and data states that 50 crashes happened in last 60 months. The tension is prevailing due to less number of squadrons and continuous aircraft crash. Last month second Jaguar aircraft was crashed during a training sortie near Allahabad, fortunately, both the pilots ejected safely. Many other crashes of MiG family took place in Indian Air Force claiming lives of some of the precious pilots.
HAL is now having some distances from Indian Air Force, followed by the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer crash last month. Indian Air Force alleged the quality of HAL Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer is not up to the mark. This led its producer Hindustan aeronautics (HAL) under the scanner. The two pilots safely ejected from the jet. The mishap took place while the jet was on a sortie. The court of inquiry on HAL is yet to be finalized. Indian Air Force claimed that the Rolls Royce engine’s flying period has reduced. The TBO (Time Between Engine Overhaul) was reduced from 2000 hours to 1200 hours. But this allegation has been rejected by HAL.
Well, Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer stood in the media from the moment it was decided to be inducted. The British made single engine jet powered trainer aircraft is bought by other countries like Finland and Australia. In 2004, a deal of 480 million Dollar was signed with BAE systems to procure 24 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer and Transfer of Technology (ToT). Then some 42 HAL made jets were ordered in 2005 while 20 were ordered in 2010, but only 22 were inducted this time. 17 jets were ordered for Navy, but only 11 were inducted that time. Some more orders were made form HAL in following years. According to the sources, the deal would be cheaper if all jets were ordered in one go.
HAL has been a longtime friend of Indian Air Force. The miss understandings between both of the organizations need to be solved quickly. HAL’s Sitara intermediate jet trainer is delayed by 16 years and slow production have made some distances between these two. The monopoly of HAL in defense production will end shortly. As the private players are heading to the defense manufacturing sector, HAL should give its best in maintaining its status and position in the heart of Indian Armed Forces. The role that Indian Air Force plays is incomparable and the pilots are trained to give best of their ability and talent, which always saved causality that could occur during any plane crashes. Air Force need renovation and induction of new beasts to gear up the strength and lead the competition amongst the rising powers.
