After India retires the two squadrons of Mig-21 planes, the capacity of the Indian Air Force is expected to decrease.
In an environment which is political tensed and tensions continue to simmer across India’s borders with China and Pakistan, various questions are being asked about the Indian Air Force’s preparedness vis-à-vis India’s two neighbours, Pakistan and China. According to various reports, China has 66 squadrons of fighter jets with each squadron having 18 to 20 planes each, taking the total number to 1200, which is nearly double the number of aircrafts 600 fighter aircrafts. Here are all the details you need to know about Indian Airforce’s current capacity.
Indian Airforce vs China and Pakistan
Apart from China, India’s enemy Pakistan has 25 squadrons of fighter jets having around 450 fighter jets. Therefore, if India retires the two squadrons of Mig-21 planes which are expected to retire in the next few days, the capacity of the Indian Air Force is expected to decrease.
What does Indian Air Force need?
As per media reports, the cost of a single jet was estimated at around Rs 1,600 crore. Considering inflation and upgrades, the current price of a Rafale or its advanced variant is unlikely to be below Rs 2,000 crore per jet. Given that India requires 234 fighter jets, the total cost of the procurement deal is projected to be approximately Rs 4.70 lakh crore, as per a report by News 18 Hindi.
India’s 5th-generation stealth fighter jet gets key clearance
In an important development for India’s air superority, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the Execution Model for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme. As per a report by IANS news agency, the AMCA clearance marks a critical step towards realising India’s goal of joining an elite club of nations in designing and producing its own fleet of next-generation combat aircraft.
The IANS report also says that the project will be helmed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said the Defence Ministry in a press release.
The AMCA, widely seen as India’s answer to fifth-generation air power, will give a major boost to achieving ‘atmanirbharata’ in the defence sector and will become a hallmark of India’s growing defence capabilities.
(With inputs from agencies)
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