40 pc of IAF planes will be obsolete soon — Defence Panel report

The committee also asked the Government to view the situation seriously and conduct a performance audit of the project.

Regarding the induction of force multipliers like AWACS and mid-air refuelling aircraft, the committee was told the acquisitions were taking time as the IAF was faced with a situation of no single vendor in the absence of US firms not bidding.

Major reductions in the Defence allocation during the past decade have thrown the modernisation of IAF out of gear. The Ministry of Defence (MoD)informed that it had stepped up the momentum by speeding up induction of upgraded Su-30 fighters as well as their assembly in India and acquisition of more Mirage-2000 aircraft to offset the delay in the LCA programme.

The Government was also going ahead with mid-life upgradation of other IAF aircraft like the various versions of MiGs including MiG-21 (Bis), MiG-23, MiG-27 and MiG 29 as well as deep penetration Jaguars, Light Transport Antonov aircraft and buying more Mi-17 helicopters.

In its recommendations, the committee asked the Government to accord top priority to the modernisation drive of the IAF and provide adequate resources to the force. The committee has taken serious note that the MoD had repeatedly been extending the time period for upgradation of the MiG-21 fleet, saying that it would be completed by next year and now saying that the upgraded MiG-21 would only roll out by 2004.

The Government also informed the committee that a study project for extension of upgrading the AN-32 transport aircraft had already commenced and that the upgradation of the Avro fleet was likely to be awarded to HAL shortly.

On the induction of Hawks, the advanced jet trainers (AJT), the Government informed the committee that the deal was likely to be signed by next month or February and that the delay was due to the IAF asking the manufacturers to have customised replacement equipment for the American components in the AJT. The parliamentary committee also backed the IAF’s plan to set up a futuristic Aerospace command.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister George Fernandes today said that the LCA project and the Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) programmes have been hit by international sanctions. He called for a more active role for the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and said that the country had to emerge as a self-sufficient aviation power.

Lauding HAL, Fernandes said that despite the sanctions, HAL had done a wonderful job. He was addressing members of the parliamentary consultative committee attached to the MoD. He called for more interaction by the country’s aviation scientists and technocrats working at HAL with leading worldwide aeronautical organisations to enable it to become a globally competitive aerospace company.

GANDHINAGAR:Air Chief Marshal A.Y. Tipnis today said the report of the inquiry into the crash of the Indian Air Force Mi-8 helicopter in the Rann of Kutch, in which five Border Security Force and IAF personnel were killed, will be made public in a month.

Addressing mediapersons at the Head Quarters South Western Air Command (HQ-SWAC), the Air Chief said the committee comprising experts will submit its report to the IAF by the end of December. “I know there is a lot of public interest in it. After going through the report the findings will be made public. He said preliminary conclusion was yet to be established. When asked that most obvious question that arose was if it had been shot down, ACM Tipnis said “no possibility is ruled out so far”.

The Air Chief said besides ascertaining the cause of crash, the committee with also inquire into the rescue operations and whether there was any delay in launching a rescue.