Need tech partnerships abroad to achieve 2047 goal: Chief of the Air Staff

INdia has the mindset and human working capital to suit a warm war machine and use up flight towards the national goal of becoming a developed country by 2047 but what it lacks is technology, and bridging that gap requires entering into strategic partnerships with other countries to develop next-generation weapons and systems, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said on Wednesday.This approach, he said, must progress in conjunction with steps towards indigenisation of military hardware.“While supporting the research and development efforts towards indigenisation and ‘atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance), we need to decide on investing in some other Make in India programmes so that we get the technology and the weapons and platforms that we need in the near future,” Singh said at the 22nd Subroto Mukerjee seminar on National Security Imperatives.The challenge for the Indian Air Force is to strike a balance between the need to become self-reliant and stay potent at the same time with the induction of new weapons and systems to meet its current requirements.“To catch up with the next generation of technology, we need to join hands with some other countries. We may be able to do it alone but it will take longer. This is the right time to get into a strategic partnership for the development of next-generation weapons and platforms. It could be in line with the decision we have taken for building engines for the future aircraft,” the IAF chief said, stressing on the need to manage immediate requirements.To be sure, the government is likely to soon approve a joint project involving French firm Safran and India’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a lab under the DRDO, to develop and produce a 120-kilonewton thrust class engine to power the indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter jet or AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft). The Safran-GTRE combine, HT learns, will develop nine prototypes in a time frame of 12 years, with 100% transfer of technology and intellectual property rights to India.Creating a strong military, especially air force, is a necessity in the backdrop of the world becoming increasingly chaotic and unpredictable, Singh said.“Unfortunately, our requirements and timelines do get affected by what’s happening in our neighbourhood because we need to be prepared for our adversary. We have to be in the reactive mode at times…It is important that we equip ourselves and, more importantly, how we utilise what we have,” he said.Capability development must be in consonance with the roles and tasks assigned to the military, he said. “We must not be taking a jump into the future thinking about roles which are not there in the next 10-15 years for us, and wasting our effort, energy and money towards that. We must realise what we need today and focus more on immediate requirements.”The IAF chief spoke of the primacy of airpower and how it shaped battle outcomes during Operation Sindoor, the four-day military confrontation between India and Pakistan in early May following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed.“Whether it was dealing a blow to the terrorists and their infrastructure or attacking multiple bases in Pakistan in a matter of few hours to send a signal that enough is enough, it was airpower which did the trick. And that has to be remembered,” Singh said.India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) before the May 10 ceasefire. The clash involved fighter jets, missiles, armed drones, and a fierce artillery duel.Military power, he said, is the ultimate arbiter of national power. “If you don’t have a robust military, you can be subjugated by anybody. Venezuela and Iraq are examples. All strategies, all instruments of national power put together will take you nowhere if you don’t have a strong military power. So that becomes an absolute necessity.”The will to use military power is even more important, the IAF chief said.“You have to show the will. Unless you have the military power and the will to use it, you can keep showing restraint, but that restraint will be seen as weakness. It’s only when you are strong enough that restraint is seen as a capability.”