Building capacity to counter 'collusive threats': IAF chief A P Singh

Air Chief Marshal A P Singh added the Indian Air Force's planning factors in the close China-Pakistan collaboration

While China has a larger air force inventory, “its operations against India are constrained by the geography of the Tibetan plateau,” Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh told Satarupa Bhattacharjya in an interview in New Delhi.He added that the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) planning factors in the close China-Pakistan collaboration. Edited excerpts: 

What are the major lessons the IAF has learned from Operation Sindoor? What is the threat assessment since related to China and Pakistan (in the neighbourhood) and afar? 

Operation Sindoor reaffirmed the decisive role of air power, both as the nation’s primary responder and as its strategic deterrent. Every operation carries lessons, however, and the IAF has studied this one closely. Its lessons are already shaping how we plan, train and build the force. 

The foremost lesson is the value of calibrated air power that controls escalation. Intelligent, precise and calibrated employment of air power allowed us to respond decisively to provocation, achieve the objectives set by the national leadership swiftly, and do so without triggering uncontrolled escalation. Throughout, we upheld our commitment to zero collateral damage. With precision, reach and restraint working together, the operation ended on our terms. 

The second lesson is that success comes from integration, not from any single weapon or platform. It came from the combined effect of ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), combat aircraft, precision weapons, electronic warfare, unmanned systems, air defence and networked command and control. It also came from jointness. Under a joint architecture established by the Chief of Defence Staff and the three service chiefs, the centralised allocation and timely reallocation of critical resources proved decisive. 

The third lesson is the importance of a strong, networked air defence. The adversary launched a large number of drones and stand-off weapons against us. They were defeated by our home-grown air defence, in which IAF surface-to-air missile and counter-UAS (unmanned aircraft system) units, supported by the Indian Army’s air defence units, operated under the control of IACCS (integrated air command and control system) nodes. Because our own skies were secure, the nation could act with confidence. The operation also reinforced how the economics of air defence are changing: low-cost drones must be met by layered, cost-effective responses. 

The fourth lesson is the value of self-reliance. Some of our indigenously developed weapons performed exceptionally, delivering precise blows deep into enemy territory. Indigenous systems give us operational independence and the flexibility to adapt rapidly as threats evolve. 

We have already translated these lessons into action. They are visible in our emphasis on long-range precision and stand-off weapons, layered and cost-effective counter-UAS capability, resilient networks, unmanned systems and continued indigenisation. 

On the threat picture, we continuously assess the capabilities developing in our neighbourhood, and our force planning is based on those assessments. China has undertaken significant modernisation of its air and aerospace capabilities. While its air force has a larger overall inventory, its operations against India are constrained by the geography of the Tibetan plateau, where high-altitude airfields reduce payload, range and turnaround times. The IAF, by contrast, operates from lower-altitude, all-weather forward airbases with full payload and shorter response times. 

Pakistan, too, is continuously upgrading its air force. We take both developments seriously. 

The close collaboration between Pakistan and China,and the assistance Pakistan receives, is a factor in our planning, and the IAF is building its capacity to counter precisely such collusive threats. 

As for reports of new fifth-generation inductions in our neighbourhood, we need to understand that the arrival of an aircraft is not the arrival of a capability. Turning it into combat power takes pilot conversion, maintenance, weapon integration, doctrine and years of hard flying, and we watch every marker of that process closely. More broadly, I would not judge the military balance by numerical symmetry. What matters is the capability, capacity and operational concepts needed to achieve the desired effect,

and the IAF’s strengths lie in its training, operational experience, integrated air defence and networked force. 

Our task is to be ready for the full spectrum of challenges the nation may face, wherever they may arise. That is the standard against which we prepare everyday. Operation Sindoor showed what the IAF can deliver. 

The World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft ranks the IAF among the top air forces. But how is the IAF addressing concern in India about its falling squadron strength? 

Assessments of air power around the world have consistently recognised the combat readiness and tested operational capabilities of the IAF. 

At the same time, the concern within India about our squadron strength is well understood, and we share it. The IAF does face challenges from the drawdown of its legacy fighter squadrons. We are addressing them through a deliberate, multi-pronged capability-building approach, so that our strength is restored progressively, and our deterrence is never compromised along the way. 

The first strand of that approach is the timely induction of modern combat platforms. The LCA (light combat aircraft) Mk-1A (4.5-generation) will be central to rebuilding numbers. The IAF has signed two contracts with HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd), for 83 and 97 aircraft. Deliveries are yet to commence, and we are working in close coordination with all stakeholders to ensure that they proceed expeditiously. Indigenous programmes, particularly the Tejas ecosystem, matter because they build sustainable combat aircraft capacity at home and reduce our dependence on external sources. Alongside this, the multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA) will bring a contemporary fighter into service in an early timeframe. The Defence Acquisition Council accorded acceptance of necessity (a technical process term) for the MRFA in February, with the majority of the aircraft to be manufactured in India. A contract for 12 additional Su-30MKI aircraft, signed in December 2024, is also under execution. Looking further ahead, the LCA Mk-II and the advanced medium combat aircraft (Amca), both under development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation with the IAF actively involved, will boost our capability significantly in the 2030s. 

The second strand is getting more from the fleet we already operate. The upgrade of the Su-30MKI fleet, a design and development project with significant indigenous equipment, is being progressed. We are also focused on improving the availability and effectiveness of every aircraft we fly, because a squadron’s real worth lies in the aircraft it can put in the air when needed. 

The third strand recognises that combat power is not measured by the number of fighter aircraft alone. Airborne early warning and control, aerial refuelling, ISR precision weapons, electronic warfare, air defence and unmanned systems are all critical force multipliers. 

We are also conscious that building squadron strength is a process, not a single event. It must be accompanied by trained manpower, infrastructure, weapons stocks, maintenance capacity and a strong domestic industrial base. That is why our efforts extend well beyond aircraft procurement. 

Numbers remain important, and we will restore them progressively. But our objective is broader: an IAF with adequate combat mass, high availability, modern technology and the ability to sustain high-intensity operations. With the LCA, the Su-30MKI, the MRFA and the Amca forming the core of our combat potential, a majority of them indigenous in design, the IAF will continue to justify the confidence the nation, and the world, places in it. 

Will the IAF continue to wait for the fighter jets it has ordered under the Tejas LCA programme? Is the IAF exploring alternative options? 

The IAF remains fully committed to the Tejas programme. The LCA is the centrepiece of India’s quest for self-reliance in combat aviation. The Tejas ecosystem is essential to building sustainable combat aircraft capacity at home. We are not walking away from it. At the same time, I will not pretend that the delays have not mattered. They have, and we are addressing them with urgency.

---

Read the full interview in the November edition of Business Standard’s Blueprint magazine