nachiket wrote:Karan M wrote:
That, and the IAF has been very blasé about a Su30 upgrade, taking its own sweet time to decide a fit, indicates there is still a lot of capacity left within the Bars. If it was completely outclassed, the IAF would be scrambling for an upgrade. The ones we have were thoroughly tested in a variety of EW scenarios in India and abroad, and we have a variant developed keeping that in mind, and inducted in the 2012-14, time frame.
Perhaps but there is no direct correlation between the urgency shown for a program or procurement and its criticality in India. Too many examples - MRCA, artillery, APC's, P75I, Tejas Mk1A, LCH, NAMICA etc. We only seem to wake up when there is a crisis and look for emergency purchases.
This is not the case with the IAF or even the other services post 2014. We have in line with our budget, made selective and focused acquisitions to fill existing gaps. Even before that, the IAF was more successful in working the system to get its priorities cleared.
When the IAF sees an issue with an existing system, they make the case forcefully and early. Even if the procurement is delayed like with the new SDRs, there is a track record of pushing for it. There is nothing is the sort for Bars or the other key avionics subsystems bar the "heavy EW".
We exercised against the FAF and found our Mirages lacking, we progressed the case for a Mirage 2000 upgrade. We progressed the MiG29 upgrade on priority post our exercises with the US and other AF, and saw they were falling further behind.
Post Balakot, we've done a lot to add new AAMs, and theres been a lot of talk about it too. The CAS has gone on record stating new AAMs were a priority, so even if they weren't the deciding factor during the post Balakot skirmish, the fact they were slightly behind what the Pakis had was unacceptable and given budget constraints the dream of a 126 Meteor armed Rafake force being the Air Superiority mainstay have faded away.
The Su30 upgrade itself though has not been progressed on "emergency" basis. Instead the IAF, Russia and HAL plus DRDO have all been discussing the fit and finalising it. If there was really an issue with the Bars etc, the IAF would be pushing for it on emergency basis and be willing to accept whatever was already there (the Russians Bars ++ proposal or even Irbis).
The fact we are willing to wait for the "right" choice - whether it be Uttam or a Russian proposal for the short term, then Uttam, speaks volumes.
Comimg to the Indian system, what you've stated was an issue predominantly in the past, the only constraints that exist now are budgetary, which is why Tejas Mk1A was stuck.
But after Rawat took charge at the IA and the other Chiefs , they worked out a system with the GOI, that each service would have its glaring gaps fixed and the budget would rotate so to speak.
IAF received the Rafale, S400 and 7 more Akash squadrons, later the Tejas.
IA received new BPJs, additional BMP/T series NV upgrades, 145 M177s, 100 K9s, 6 Pinaka regiments, and a new Brahmos regiment along with a MRSAM one, plus Apaches. They also got the pvt sector to finally step in and start making ammo for them. And also new rifles starting with the front line troops.
Similarly, the Navy got its Romeos, anti sub gear, P8s, and other specific programs cleared which fixed specific gaps, added punch.
Bottomline, the era of indecisive "anything goes" has gone, the 3 forces were asked to first improve their serviceability and get selective accretions with the understanding bulk orders would go to domestic industry if an equivalent program was underway or available.
This is the reason there is a general tendency not to break the bank on a single MMRCA etc. There was also a move to relook at all the pending acquisitions and rationalise, obsolete items were dropped, only select imports were prioritised for limited acquisition (where possible domestic alternatives were greenlighted, hence QRSAM, MPATGM, domestic VSHORAD, Akash NG etc).
In line with these changed sensibilities, the services are also moving towards looking at doing more with what they already have. The new AAMs for the Su, MiG fleet, the focus on upgrades and desi AEW&C (an achievable Netra Mk2) all come from that.
Even many of our so called emergency imports have been primarily because OFB was slow in terms of delivery and unable to meet domestic needs. Not planning failures. They asked for long term, multi year indents and GOI gave it to them. They were unable to meet those, and instead of waiting for file pushing, GOI gave the AF expanded monetary reserves to build up their WWR by getting ammo and spares from abroad.
When it was seen budgetary issues due to Covid were preventing orders for Tejas Mk1A, HAL was asked to use internal funds to keep progressing the project under the guarantee GOI would place the order. When further ALH orders were stalled due to low serviceability, GOI authorised new logistics agreements and further HAL infra to support the armed forces (no more dividend games alone as under Chidus time). When IA indicated it needed new ATGMs, further Milan, Konkurs and only selected numbers of Spike were ordered, giving time for a new domestic MPATGM to be the bedrock whether the DRDO one or another with significant local input.
Namica's LSP has been cleared. It needed further trials for the baseline launcher and missile both have been done. In Arty, OFB has come a cropper (no surprise), and hence the GOI is looking at a system for a limited first order. Again, domestic capacity is paramount.
Things have changed substantially under this GOI, and if there was a significant gap in the Su-30 or any other fleet, the IAF has had full freedom to push for its rectification. They have however focused on AAMs, new hangars, and SDRs indicating these were areas of concern. Apart from building up spares and other essentials. They've also pushed for more AEW&C.
The new aim at the MOD is to get all deals cleared within a 2 year tineframe. This will further improve budgetary utilisation efficiency.
That the current methods have rapidly boosted combat efficiency can be judged from the fact we went toe to toe with China and didn't blink.
In Feb 2019, two and a half years back, when the services were asked to evaluate their readiness vs Pak, the IA chief stated he was at 75% readiness but Pak wasn't even at 50%, whereas IAF was ready for full intense ops (thanks to multiple procurements post 2016 and the planning and ops capabilities worked out during Gagan Shakti) and the IN Chief indicated his capabilities were overwhelming.
After that, we have had two more rounds of substantial procurement, the Balakot incident itself, and then post /during Galwan.
Despite well known issues - IAFs at 30 odd squadrons, IA wants more arty and its networking programs are yet to pick up, Navy wants a carrier, overall the services are more combat ready than they have been in roughly two decades, and the procurement process at MOD has been drastically improved. The funding shortage is also sought to be addressed via the land monetisation and other proposals.
Each service has the freedom to decide its priorities under the current budget levels. Thanks to OROP, IAs Capex is the most affected, so it is they who have to make the hardest choices first. But even there they've prioritised infantry gear, ammo and spares for existing weapons, NV gear etc. Their other priorities coming up are additional towed artillery, LuHs, and new SAMs (Akash Prime most likely or they could instead prioritise the QRSAM). Its happening in a methodical fashion.