'Depleting Air Force strength a serious concern for India': Defence expert

Defence expert Wing Commander (retd) Praful Bakshi on Sunday opined that the depleting strength of the Indian Air Force is a serious concern for the country, welcoming the Rafale deal signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in France as essential for the security of the nation.

"The Rafale deal is extremely important. For security, the standing strength of the Indian Air Force needs to be at around 42-45 squadrons, which has depleted to 32 today because of the ageing MiG series. We are going to face a very serious security threat... China and Pakistan are on the border and India stands alone... It is a great security concern for our country," Wing Commander (retd) Bakshi told ANI.

"The Rafale deal has been delayed unnecessarily for three and a half years because of poor decision making, scams, and so on. The Prime Minister has taken a very firm step: gone there, signed the deal, with 36 aircraft 'ready-to-fly', with the rest to follow soon," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is presently on a two-day visit to France, had on Friday ordered 36 'ready-to-fly' French-made Rafale fighter jets.

The 36 Rafale jets are expected to be inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) within a span of two years.