LAC standoff: Conflict with India not good for China at global front, says IAF chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria
Amid simmering tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, said on Tuesday that any “serious conflict” with India is not good for China at the global front. Speaking at a press conference, the IAF chief said, “Any serious...
Finally some ine from military has recognized Turkeys as a threat for our country, and its military development also.LAC standoff: Conflict with India not good for China at global front, says IAF chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria
Amid simmering tension along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria, said on Tuesday that any “serious conflict” with India is not good for China at the global front. Speaking at a press conference, the IAF chief said, “Any serious...economictimes.indiatimes.com
Year End Review – 2020 Ministry of Defence
The year 2020 began with a momentous decision in Indian Defence history. The Department of
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I just learnt that Fibreglass Mats are used for Runway Repairs 
Fiberglass mats for quick runway repairs
Fiberglass mats for quick runway repairs
IAF COMMANDERS’CONFERENCE APR 2021
The IAF Commanders’ Conference 2021, themed ‘Reorienting for the Future’ concluded at Air HQs on 16
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IAF set to lease A330 mid-air refueller from France for training
The A330 refuellers of France and UAE air force have been used to ferry as many as 17 Rafale omni-role fighters to India from Merignac-Bordeaux air base since July 2020. Another seven fighters are due to arrive in India in May
The A330 can not only operate with load in thin atmosphere of Ladakh and beyond but also supply fuel to Indian fighters at Himalayan heights with combat radius of 1800 km and 50 tonnes of fuel for four hours.(Representational photo)
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has approached the French government to lease one Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport aircraft for training purposes as a precursor to lease five more mid-air refuellers for increasing the combat capability and radius of its multi-role fighters.
The leasing will be done on government-to-government basis with the IAF already issuing a request for information (RFI) for a single aircraft while a request for proposals route will be used for the additional five refuellers on lease. The issue was discussed during Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria’s visit to France last week.
“With IAF looking towards A330 refuellers for its future, it is only natural that its pilots are trained in advance to handle the aircraft as mid-air refuelling is a precision process with zero margin of error and huge stakes,” said an IAF official.
The A330 refuellers of France and UAE air force have been used to ferry as many as 17 Rafale omni-role fighters to India from Merignac-Bordeaux air base since July 2020. Another seven fighters are due to arrive in India in May with a batch being deployed at the new Hashimara air base in West Bengal with Ambala being the first base.
Just before his retirement the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha had spoken about the future of the IAF and stated that the number of aircraft in the Rafale category should be increased:
He also expressed satisfaction that IAF fighters had flown 40,000 hours in the past year.
But as the IAF has more than 600 fighters, 40,000 hours seems very little to me, can someone explain to me how this is possible?
Rafale vs J-20: IAF Pilot Explains Why A 'Superior' J-20 Stealth Fighter Jet Will Avoid Skirmish With Indian Rafales
Rafale vs J-20: In an India-China air force clash, IAF explains how China could use its J-20 jets to counter Indian Rafales & Su-30 MKIs.
eurasiantimes.com
@randomradio , Please read this and give your views
It's simple. 1/3rd of the fleet can barely fly for an hour, even less, because they are small single-engine aircraft, like the Mig-21. I think the Mig-21 does only 30 min, and LCA does 40 min in operational conditions. More than a decade ago, nearly half the fleet was Mig-21 and 27s. Mig-29s without upgrades were as bad as Mig-21s. Upgraded Mig-29 and M2000 also do just 1 hour or less during a regular sortie. Naturally the MKI can also be restricted to 1 hour or less of operational flying time per sortie, likely saves money. So pilots get enough sorties, but the flying time per sortie is very less.
Then many aircraft are in for overhauls and upgrades, apart from regular maintenance, so overall peacetime availability is likely around 40-50% for the entire air force.
We also have a shortage of pilots due to lack of trainers.
Rafale vs J-20: IAF Pilot Explains Why A 'Superior' J-20 Stealth Fighter Jet Will Avoid Skirmish With Indian Rafales
Rafale vs J-20: In an India-China air force clash, IAF explains how China could use its J-20 jets to counter Indian Rafales & Su-30 MKIs.
@randomradio , Please read this and give your views
China will soon begin inducting around 50 J-20Bs a year. Perhaps next year, or the year after. By 2025, only the 36 Rafales will be able to challenge the PLAAF. The rest of our fighter fleet will be turkey shoot.
In 2025, our Mig-29s and M2000 will not have AESA radars. We will at best have only 1 or 2 squadrons of LCA Mk1A. None of our MKIs will have advanced radars, the Bars won't be enough against the J-20B. Our Rafales as well will only have MICA instead of MICA-NG, which will become a problem in certain situations.
The J-20 will hold a massive advantage in the air whenever/wherever the Rafale is not available.
I understand the arguments, but I propose to compare with France:
The French Air Force has 170,000 flying hours per year.
The fighter fleet consists of 217 aircraft with a total of 54,000 flight hours per year. This allows for the training of more than 300 fighter pilots in accordance with NATO standards.
The 40,000 hours you generate only allow for 220 pilots to be trained to the same standards for over 600 aircraft!
This probably explains why some pilots leave your air force because they can't maintain their skills!
The quality of French aircraft is better in terms of flying hours, the IAF's is not.
For example, Mig-21 pilots get 200+ sorties a year. A pilot has to fly 20 times a month, twice a day on 10 flying days every month, so theoretically 240 sorties a year. But if each sortie lasts only 30 min, then the pilot only gets 100+ hours a year. But if the aircraft was capable of generating an operational time of 1 hour, then that would improve to 200+ hours a year. So the aircraft type limits the number of hours. However both the Indian pilot and French pilot are likely conducting the same number of sorties and the value imparted in the form of training is pretty much the same, because the tasks accomplished are the same. So IAF pilots get western levels of training.
While France has been operating superior aircraft since the 90s, India got such aircraft in numbers only after 2010, with the MKI. Before that we had hundreds of Migs. Once the IAF gets Rafale and LCA Mk2 in large numbers, then the flying hours will increase drastically, even if the sortie rates remain the same as it was for the Migs.
As for fighter pilots who leave service, they leave because they have crossed the age limit to fly in the air force and have little to no chance for future promotions. So when their career hits a deadend, they leave. Otherwise they are not allowed to leave when they are still fit for flying duties. Even if they want to leave, they can't. One must finish minimum 14 years of flying for the IAF to recoup all the money spent for training. IAF pilots above Wing Commander rank do not fly, and their promotion to a higher rank happens in their early 40s. So that's when they stop flying. Wing Commander is the last rank you get by default, any ranks above that happens via selection. So Wing Commanders who cannot get promoted anymore quit and join the civilian industry because they can then fly planes up to 65 years.
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GROUP CAPTAIN Ashu Shrivastava
A little known story about Grp Capt Harkirat Singh, who will command first Rafale squadron
Group Captain Harkirat Singh was awarded Shaurya Chakra in 2009 for his brave act that helped save his MiG 21 Bison that had developed engine complications.
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GROUP CAPTAIN Harkirat Singh
Group Captain Harkirat Singh is raising BOTH RAFALE squadrons
Will he able to do it without first mastering the plane himself
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www.google.com
GROUP CAPTAIN Ashu Shrivastava
A little known story about Grp Capt Harkirat Singh, who will command first Rafale squadron
Group Captain Harkirat Singh was awarded Shaurya Chakra in 2009 for his brave act that helped save his MiG 21 Bison that had developed engine complications.
GROUP CAPTAIN Harkirat Singh
Group Captain Harkirat Singh is raising BOTH RAFALE squadrons
Will he able to do it without first mastering the plane himself
Even Air Marshals fly, but that's not their full time job. The Group Captain is the leader of an entire squadron. So it's no different from the rank of a Colonel in the army, which is also not a field rank. His job is to handle the functioning of the entire squadron.
The MKI is a bit special because of its twin-seat configuration. But you can expect the higher-ranked pilot to be sitting in the back seat directing the battle.
No, you don't need to master a plane in order to become a Group Captain. With just 1-2 years of flying experience on the Rafale, I don't think we have even a single pilot who has yet mastered the plane anyway. It's the job of the Wing Commander and lower ranks to master the plane and this takes years.
Stats are like miniskirts - they show a bit but they hide a lot more
India has currently
Mig-21 - 108 - these should be flying less and less for obvious reasons
Tejas - 20 - still in limited use
Rafale - getting piecemeal so should not count for this year
We also have
Su-30 - 272
Mig-29 - 69
Jaguar - 120
Mirage - 49
These are not actual numbers - SUs are 10 -11 less, same for MiG-29s and Jags - we lost a bit to attrition. So if we total these numbers its 510. Round it to 500.
This 500 assumes a 100% serviceability rate. Being realistic it should be 75% (optimistic guess).
Our standing availability at anytime will not be more than 400 planes.
Thats about 100 hours per plane per year. That is pretty decent I'd say since we like to preserve airframe life as well.
Edit - Scratch some pieces from above. Just noted the statement is from ACM Raha. ACM Raha's tenure was at a time when we were trying to improve SU serviceability as well. So yeah at that time remove the Tejas, remove the Rafales add more Mig-21s and 27s which had a very poor availability rate at the end of their life.
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