Indian Air Force 91st anniversary: 'Atamnirbharta' in aerospace critical to nation's strategic autonomy

Indian Air Force (IAF) kicked off the 91st anniversary deliberations with a massive event showcasing hard combat power and its massive soft power at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The main 8 October Air Force Day events this year will be held at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, with flying displays at the Sangam. IAF is today the fourth largest air force. India will soon be the third largest economy. The recent G 20 presidency has showcased India as the global power and undisputed leader of the Global South. India already is a major global aerospace market. Indian Armed Forces have increasing defence aerospace requirements and budgets. India has a booming commercial aviation market. The number of new airports are expanding. Aviation technologies are always the leading cutting edge, and often game changing. They add deterrent capabilities. These require investments in research and development. Also obsolescence sets in faster. For India to sit on the global high table, it must master some of these. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), other Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU) and private industry have seen rising technological and manufacturing capabilities. India has a clear advantage of higher skills and lower costs of production. The present government’s Atamnirbharta push supports the ‘Make in India’. Time is ripe for mastering new technologies and boosting domestic defence production. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Information Technology will support the process. The aerospace industry accounts for nearly 40 per cent of global military expenditure which was $ 2.24 trillion in 2022. The US is a major player with nearly 30 per cent of military expenditure and defence exports in the sector. They allocate more amount to the defence Research and Development (R&D) than the rest of the world put together. Bulk of the major defence Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are based in the USA. India continues to be one of the largest importer of arms, making it a favoured destination for defence sales. The aerospace industry involves development, production and maintenance of aircraft, missiles and UAVs. It also involves many airborne systems, avionics, engines, weapons and also Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO). For India to be a global player, it must become self-sufficient in defence and aerospace. India must take-on civil aircraft repairs and overhaul for itself and the region. [caption id=“attachment_13212122” align=“alignnone” width=“602”] DRDO’s Netra AEW&C. Image: DRDO[/caption] India’s huge aerospace requirements Indian Armed Forces require many fighter aircraft, transports and helicopters. IAF will still require 114 imported fighters to make up the gap. India will soon procure the General Atomics Predator MQ-9 UAVs. India requires Flight Refuelling Aircraft (FRA), Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Drones, among others. There is a need for air defence radars, missiles systems, long range precision aerial weapons, and much more. India remains dependent for foreign help in aero-engines, many avionics, radars, some weapons, ejection seats on foreign buyers. It can be seen that Indian armed forces have a huge military aviation market to be tapped. With the fastest growing airline sector, India requires thousands more airliners. A large part of India’s requirements are imported. There is thus a huge scope for indigenisation and also for India to become a MRO hub. HAL: Great aircraft license production house HAL remains the leader in India with its 19 production units. It has manufactured 26 different types of aircraft, mostly military, through indigenous development and licence-production deals. HAL license produced fighters including Su-30 MKI, medium transport aircraft, trainers, and helicopters. HAL has also built both Russian and Western aero-engines under license. HAL will now make GE 414 engines in India. HAL also supplies components for the major global companies’ such as Airbus A320 doors: Boeing 777 up-lock box assembly and flaperons; Boeing 737 Freighter Conversion Kits; Boeing F/A 18 Gun Bay Door; Boeing P-8I Weapon Doors & Tailcone; Eurocopter Ecureuil composites, among others. HAL’s composite manufacturing capability is world class. But HAL has potential to do better in human productivity and quality assurance.   [caption id=“attachment_13212152” align=“alignnone” width=“606”] LCA ‘Tejas’ Mk 1. Image: IAF[/caption] HAL’s current commitments HAL will soon complete deliveries of 40 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) ‘Tejas’ Mk1. 83 LCA MK1A with modern AESA radar are on order, and will begin delivery in early 2024. IAF has committed to additional 100 Mk1A recently. HAL is also working on LCA Mk2 with the more powerful GE 414 engine, now called the Medium Weight Fighter. The first flight of Mk2 is planned in 2024, and induction around 2032. IAF needs around 200 LCA Mk2. IAF also awaits the indigenous, HAL-DRDO’s fifth-generation stealth Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). This is a work still in initial progress and the aircraft may fly around 2028 and induct around 2035. India has done well in helicopter production. Nearly 400 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), ALH-WSI ‘Rudra’, the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) ‘Prachand’ and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) are already flying. HAL is also developing an Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH). A huge factory has been set up at Tumkur, Karnataka. Meanwhile the NAL-HAL Saras continue to be developed slowly.   [caption id=“attachment_13212192” align=“alignnone” width=“625”] HAL LCH ‘Prachand’. Image HAL[/caption] DRDO’s great potential needs to be harnessed Many of DRDO’s 52 laboratories run aviation technology projects. These include aeronautics programs, unmanned aerial vehicles, missiles and other weapons including lasers, precision-guided munition, glide bombs, electronic warfare, and the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV). There is a Defence Technology Commission with the defence minister as its chairman. What matters for defence preparedness is the R&D systems that actually get inducted into armed forces. The DRDO systems have actually been inducted include the LCA, Akash AD missile system, Sukhoi Su-30MKI avionics, the Tarang radar warning receiver, Lakshya PTA, Retarder bomb kits, Netra AEW&C, series of surveillance and missile control radars, Prithvi and Agni series of missiles, Helina ATGM, BrahMos and Nirbhay cruise missiles, Astra AAM, the ABM project’s AAD (Advanced Air Defence) and PAD (Prithvi Air Defence) missiles. Among the ongoing projects are DRDO/HAL AMCA, Rustom, TAPAS-BH-201 and AURA UAV, missile approach warning system (MAWS), Multi-role radar ‘Uttam’ for LCA, laser and directed energy weapons (DEW) and dazzlers, FLIR and Wide angle HUDs, Barak 8 LRSAM, NGARM (New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile) Rudram-1, ASAT capability enhancement, Sudarshan Laser guided bomb, Garuthmaa & Garudaa 1000 kg glide bombs, Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW), High Speed Low Drag Bomb, Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) and GTX-35VS Kaveri engine, among few more. DRDO is also converting each of six pre-owned airliners into AEW&C and FRA aircraft for IAF. Also the IAF has ordered six more ‘Netra’ AEW&C. These needs hastening. The infrastructure is in place. There has been significant success in the LCA program, missiles, and radars. In many other areas, work is still in progress. The government has set up a committee for ‘restructuring and redefining’ the role of DRDO under the former Principal Scientific Advisor to government, K Vijay Raghavan. The committee would submit a report in three months, and that may suggest how to get value for money in R&D. Private industry becoming significant but needs more hand holding Private sector has finally started entering aerospace in a big way. The Indian conglomerate, Tata, set up an aerospace production facility in Hyderabad. They are making the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter cabins, aero structures for Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook helicopters, and for the Pilatus PC-12NG. They make wings for F-16s. Tatas are the sole global producer of fuselages for AH-64 Apache helicopters delivered by Boeing to its global customers. Tata group is working with GE to manufacture CFM International LEAP engine components in India. IAF has just inducted the CASA C-295 MW transport aircraft. 16 will be delivered in fly-away condition. Another 40 will be built by Tata Group in India. Tatas also produce and maintain Akash SAM launchers, command posts and other support vehicles for IAF. TASL is bidding to develop and build UAVs and kamikaze drones. Dynamatic Technologies makes assemblies of vertical fins for Sukhoi 30 MKI fighters. They are also supplying aero-structures to Airbus for its A320 family of aircraft and the wide-body 330 aircraft. Hyderabad’s VEM technologies manufactures central-fuselage for LCA Tejas. Many Indian MSMEs and start-ups are in defence production, and their presence was visible in Aero India 2023. Private sector needs to be inducted much more in the ecosystem. UAVs and drones Indian armed forces have a huge requirement of large and medium UAVs. India needs drones for civil and military markets. Manned Unmanned Aircraft Teaming (MUMT) has been tested globally, and operational concepts put in place. Drones are already being used for all roles including ISR, logistic delivery, armed attack against ground and aerial targets, laser lasing, and as electronic warfare and communication platforms, among others. Indian DRDO’s Tapas medium altitude long endurance (MALE) and Ghatak UCAV look promising but are far behind schedule. DRDO must find private partners for UAVs. Adani Elbit Advanced Systems India Limited is producing Hermes-900 UAVs in India. Many start-ups have entered drones and counter drone manufacturing. These include Newspace Research & Technologies, Paras Aerospace, Throttle Aerospace, General Aeronautics, Redwing Labs, Dhaksha Unmanned Systems, UrbanMatrix Technologies, Thanos Technologies, and Auto Micro UAS, among many others. IAF has been organising large drone events to promote indigenisation. New aviation technologies need to be harnessed Aircraft and systems performance is increasing rapidly. Manoeuvre performance is enhanced by thrust-vectoring, which also helps reduce take-off and landing distances. Super-cruise has to be inbuilt. Layout and internal structures minimise RCS over a broad bandwidth of frequencies. To maintain low signature primary weapons are carried in internal weapon bays. Stealth technology should be employed without a trade-off with aerodynamics performance. Signature-reduction techniques include special shaping approaches, thermoplastic materials, extensive structural use of advanced composites, conformal sensors, heat-resistant coatings, low-observable wire meshes to cover intake and cooling vents, heat ablating tiles on the exhaust troughs and coating internal and external metal areas with radar-absorbent materials and paints. Modern aircraft are designed from the start to operate in a network-centric combat environment. They have multifunction AESA radars with high-bandwidth low-probability of intercept. Infra-Red Search and Tracking (IRST) and other sensors are fused in for Situational Awareness and to constantly track all targets of interest around the aircraft’s 360 degree bubble. Integration of all these elements provides “first-look, first-shot, first-kill capability”. Integrated electronic warfare system, integrated communications, navigation, and identification, centralised ‘vehicle health monitoring’, fibre-optic data-transmission, and stealth are important features. AI is not only improving manufacturing but also decision making at all levels including in combat. Additive 3D manufacturing, electric propulsion, hypersonic platforms and weapons are bringing change. Electronic warfare with great cyber action have become more relevant in network centric warfare. Getting India’s aero-engine right: Task force approach DRDO’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) has struggled to make a turbo-jet aero-engine for many decades. There are very few aero-engine manufacturers in the world and they closely guard technologies. World over, many engines are being made by consortiums or joint-ventures. India has a significant market for both civil and military engines. India may best get into a Joint Venture that could be win-win for both sides. India also needs small engines for UAVs and cruise missiles. Electric and hybrid engines are where the future is. India must set up a Task Force under PMO to develop the aero-engine. Future aircraft are expected to use advanced engines with Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology for longer ranges and higher performance. That would give an aircraft a much greater range, faster acceleration, and greater subsonic cruise efficiency. But India is still to get its basic aero-engine right. Even the GE 414 contract would essentially be a license production contract. We need an aero-engine with its own intellectual property rights. It is best managed by entering a 100 per cent technology transfer with some major engine manufacturer. It will cost money, but should make us independent for the future. Advanced Long Range Precision Weapons Air engagements are becoming longer, there is thus a need for long range sensors and weapons that can operate in adverse electronic environments. Precision and range are the two critical requirements for both air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons. India has a successful missile program, including the Astra, Akash, BrahMos, among others. Astra Mk 3, and BrahMos II need to be accelerated. In many cases we have partnered with Russia and Israel. The JV route is working well. Gradually, critical components like weapon sensor heads and control systems must be increasingly Indian. Future weaponry would utilise scramjets for the production of faster missiles. At hypersonic speeds a missile could not be stopped by conventional air defence technology. Continued experiments with DEW and lasers, used for defensive as well as offensive measures, delivering effects at the speed of light, are also likely to shape combat engagements. Laser and DEW require greater power source on-board. New air-to-air missiles would use improved solid rocket motors having synergised control enabled by combined aero, attitude control and thrust vectoring, and have improved ‘high off boresight’ for rear hemisphere kills and ‘lower cost per kill’. A survivable, long-range missile with combined air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities is being developed. Range would be a big factor to counter potential adversaries with Chinese PL-15. [caption id=“attachment_13212232” align=“alignnone” width=“677”] GSAT 7A. Image: ISRO[/caption] Harnessing space Space is the ultimate vantage point and future for all action and capabilities, the real force multiplier. Space is the enabler for most ISR, communications, and navigation, and targeting capabilities on earth. Air and space domains have already begun to merge and need to be exploited. For the success of any surface or sub-surface campaign, aerospace superiority would be the starting point. India needs to build and secure its assets in space. China has pulled significantly ahead. Their number of launches, satellites and constellations, space-station, and satellite navigation systems are way ahead. India has all space capabilities. Only the numbers have to increase for better redundancy, and higher revisit for ISR. Also India must quickly operationalise its satellite navigation system Navic. IAF is best placed to harness space for its networked operations and IACCS. There is a need to increase Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and work jointly with friendly foreign countries. Ultimately the space must be merged with air for better exploitation of these two contiguous domains that have great commonality. Huge MRO market India has a huge MRO market for civil and military aircraft and engines. The current airliner fleet of around 650 aircraft will reach 1350 by 2031. As per NITI Ayog report, the Indian MRO industry was $1.7 billion in 2021. The global MRO market was worth US$78.6 billion in 2022. The Indian market is expected to be $4.0 billion by 2031, growing at 8.9 per cent CAGR, faster than any other country. India thus has great potential to be a significant regional MRO hub and gradually strives to establish its foothold in the global supply chain. The current major Indian MRO players are, AIESL (Air India Engineering Services Ltd), Air Works India, and GMR Aero Technic Limited, among a few others. The airlines’ growth makes a great case for strategic investors, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and global MRO players. Policy initiatives such as the MRO Policy 2021, National Civil Aviation Policy 2016, rationalisation of GST, removal of Gross Turnover Tax (GTO), etc. should be incentivised. Incremental steps such as joint ventures with established global MRO players, and initial focus on lower IP control (electrical and electronics, avionics, structural repair, etc.) and a gradual shift towards the higher end of the MRO value chain could be a good approach. There is a great scope for the military engines overhaul market to go to private players. Way ahead IAF is already facing depletion in numbers of fighter squadrons. Modernisation is behind schedule. Going forward, indigenous production has to be ramped up in terms of quality, numbers and deliveries on time. India is still at the LCA Mk1 stage. Other variants are still to come. India’s fifth generation aircraft, the AMCA, is still on the drawing board and may require foreign help for a few technologies. HAL still has production and quality issues to resolve. HAL platforms are still import dependent and therefore costly. Also manpower productivity must increase. Long project delays force revision of service air staff requirements as technologies move ahead. More efficient corporate structure will help, and the PSUs must be released from bureaucratic control. There are a handful of major aircraft engine manufacturers in the world. China and India are still evolving their engine design and manufacturing abilities. India has been dependent on Russian, French and American engines for a long. India has to make a reliable gas turbine engine. India should not have to import trainer aircraft. India also does not have a significant transport aircraft project. India also needs help in AESA radars, EW systems, modern weapons, actionable AI and other advanced avionics. It is best to take a collaborative approach and use economic muscle and high military system requirements to seek the transfer of technology. India needs to think ahead, and harness its numbers, lest we get left behind again. The writer is Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.