INDIA’S FIGHTER CONUNDRUM

SPECIAL REPORT With the recent spotlight on the Indian Air Force, Combat Aircraft assesses its plans to modernize its ageing fighter fleet. THE GOVERNMENT-APPROVED STRENGTH of the Indian Air Force (IAF), given the country’s well-publicized security scenario and the possibility of a ‘two-front’ threat of combined Pakistani and Chinese air action to the west and north-east, is 42 fighter squadrons. There is little clarity on how this exact number was arrived at, but nonetheless, the IAF hasn’t come close to