May 27, 2007: The Indian Air Force is authorized 45
fighter squadrons, each with about twenty aircraft. But because so many of its
MiG (21, 23 and 27) fighters are wearing out so quickly, India will only have
about 28 squadrons by the end of the year. Only about ten of those squadrons
are modern aircraft (Mig-29, Su-30 and Mirage 2000), the rest are the older
MiGs that are still flyable. India is refurbishing its MiG-29s, and shopping
for 126 modern fighters from whoever will give them the best deal for about $7
billion. Meanwhile, there is no immediate threat. Pakistan is the only real
enemy in the region, and their smaller fighter fleet is also aging.
One unfortunate side effect of the rapid retirement
of so many aircraft, is that there are now no flying jobs for nearly a thousand
Indian fighter pilots. Most are now sitting at desks, and many would like to
leave the service and make a lot more money flying civilian transports. Like
all air forces, the Indian pilots joined up so they could fly. But the older
Russian aircraft were designed for doctrine developed in the defunct Soviet
Union. Back then, the Soviets sought to save money by not flying their
warplanes nearly as much as Western air forces. The Soviets did not depend on
skilled pilots, but lots of aircraft. That strategy has since been discarded,
and everyone is trying to improve the training of their pilots.
