January
3, 2007: The Indian Air Force has not lost a single MiG-21 in an accident in
the last twelve months. This is a surprise, given that Indian Air Force MiG-21s
have had a very high rate of accidents in the past. The current lack of losses
is no fluke, though. India has reduced its accident rate by 75 percent over the
last 30 years. How is this possible? The answer lies partially in the evolution
of the Indian Air Force into one of the premier air fleets in the world
today.
One
of the biggest signs of this evolution is how the Indian Air Force has gone
from a force largely consisting of low-end planes, like
locally-manufactured Ajeet, Marut, and license-built Folland Gnats, along
with imported planes like the Hawker Hunter, to a modern, cutting-edge air force.
India's MiG-21 force first entered service in 1963, and eventually, India
turned to Russia for more modern planes, and eventually began manufacturing the
MiG-27 and Su-30 under license.
In
recent years, a rash of crashes had left the continued viability of India's
MiG-21s in question. India's Air Force has 64 upgraded MiG-21s in front line
service, with 81 more in second-line service and in training units. But these
planes are still pretty old, and 43 years of service included a lot of flight
time. India's air force trains like Western air forces, largely due to the
influence of the RAF. Russian planes are designed to be flown on a lot less,
for training, than Western designs.
However,
the MiG-21 problems were overcome in 2006. One of the causes of many crashes
that had occurred in the recent years was finally traced to bad fuel pumps. By
fixing the fuel pumps, MiG-21s will continue serving for a number of years. And
this is perhaps the biggest step in the Indian Air Force's evolution into a top
air force.
Having
planes and pilots are nice, but they need to be backed up by a sufficient
maintenance/logistics base. In this case, India has become more capable in this
regard. By manufacturing aircraft locally, they have been able to fix problems
with the aircraft in service. As this capability has advanced, India's Air
Force is able to stay in the air and carry out the many missions it has. -
Harold C. Hutchison
