IAF women in combat roles: As we celebrate, let’s hope they don’t become fodder for our rickety old trainer jets

It was 3 October, 1982 in Hyderabad. I had just lost my closest friend in a jet aircrash in Bengaluru. He was a test pilot and the second person in my family to suffer a loss of control in a possibly  badly-maintained Kiran jet. My uncle died in Kalaikunda flying a Mystere in 1960. His plane never came out of a manoeuvre. They paid for the faults of others. A firm believer since then that what our Air Force loses in dated aircraft like the ‘flying coffin’, the MiG 21 and a laissez faire maintenance forced by limited budgets and cannibalised spare parts, we make up for in pilot skills. This was reinforced in 1965 when the Keelor brothers and their tribe flying outdated Gnats took on the Sabre jets and beat the hell out of them. Our years of dependence on third-rate trainers has cost us millions and the lives of far too many young men. We make them jump from intermediate trainers to advanced jets with nothing in between. Only now have we inducted the Hawk and the Pilatus, and hopefully the sad record will improve. [caption id=“attachment_2481288” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Ready for women pilots. Reuters[/caption] Today, against that backdrop compounded by the skulduggery of military purchase and the paybacks that invariably accompany them, their legacy has extended to women and that is terrific and very forward thinking. Women are no less skillful and good luck to them. That said, if there is a fear, it is the sacrifice they might have to make at a time when almost no one has the courage to say that the Indian-made fighter jet Tejas is a disaster and probably ranks as the worst experiment in modern jet fighter history. The aircraft has over 50 recognised flaws and is already obsolete. Scrap it. If we put these women to the test in this aircraft — perish the thought, I shudder to imagine the fallout from that scenario. Even if we put them in MiG 21s, perish the thought. Even our Su-30 Flankers number only 200 instead of the slated 272. Six have been lost, with the main suspect being poor trainer aircraft and questionable maintenance. The Indian Air force has a reputation for having one of the most rigorous training schedules once you graduate to the real thing. That puts immense pressure on the pilots, on the aircraft and the maintenance process. Ironically, we don’t have the wherewithal for this impractical schedule. We whip the system. And the governments — whether Congress or BJP — have little concept of how weak our Air Force is. We have only 34 squadrons instead of the required 42, and much of our fleet is beaten to death. The 36 Rafale jets from France is a deal that yo-yos pathetically between yes, maybe, yes, no, yes,  no, we will, we won’t until everyone gives up and no one knows what is happening. All we do know is that our Air Force is behind the curve. I once asked Serge Dassault why anyone should buy a Rafale at over three times the price of an F16 Block 60 Fighting Falcon of which Pakistan has just received eight from the US. Dassault said quite seriously that it was four times more efficient than the most upgraded Lockheed manufactured fighter ever. I don’t quite know how true that boast is. In an age when drones are taking over the air battles and delivery systems for missiles have become as high a priority as Patriot-type defence systems, the heroic dogfight imagery is becoming passé. Conventional wars are not on the agenda. Besides, the upgraded version (the F16 is the poster child for the success of navigating obsolescence) of even the Sukhois and the Gripen has given them a great lease on life. The Gripen, for example, is the only lightweight fighter of the top-line contenders. Boeing’s F/A-18E/F, Dassault’s Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin’s F22 and F16 Block 60, Mitsubishi/ Lockheed Martin’s F2 and Sukhoi’s Su-30/35 all have a maximum takeoff weights (MTOW) in excess of 45,000 lb, with commensurate price tags and maintenance costs. Meanwhile Pakistan keeps building its frontline strike force. We keep waffling. Are we vulnerable? Most certainly. Can we keep depending on the skill of pilots while we delay upgrading our fleets? The risk is magnified several fold. Are we handicapping our pilots? Yes, we are. Whether for men or women, we need to recreate our Air Force in a 21st century mould… Or face the consequences.