Interview : Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi

FORCE June-2005 [http://www.forceindia.net]

Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC took over as the Chief of Air Staff on 31 December 2004 . During his long and illustrious career spanning over 40 years, he has held various command, staff and instructional appointments. He has the distinction of commanding three — Central Air Command, South Western Air Command and the Western Air Command — of the five Indian Air Force commands before taking over as the Air Force Chief. He has flown a variety of fighter aircraft including the Gnats, MiGs, Jaguars, and Su-30s. He actively participated in the 1965 and 1971 wars. In an extensive interview to FORCE ACM Tyagi, who is known for his straight-forwardness, spoke about the tasks and needs of the Indian Air Force at present and in future.

Air Chief Marshal Shashindra Pal Tyagi PVSM, AVSM, VM, ADC

Q According to the Standing Committee on Defence report, 2005-2006, the force level will be down to 26 combat squadrons by end of 12 th defence plan (2017), when the requirement, according to senior air force officers, is of 65 squadrons for the known threats. What steps are being taken to ensure adequate capability to meet the threats on both fronts?

The figure of 26 squadrons as stated is based on known depletions and planned accretion upto 2017, as also on an assumption that the air force budget during the entire period will remain at approximately three per cent of the GDP. IAF is constantly upgrading and modernising its combat capability based on future threat perception in the subcontinent. IAF plans to gradually replace its ageing fleet with modern multi-role aircraft like Mirage 2000, Su-30MKI besides acquiring air to air refuelling capability and the AWACS. The IAF equipped with these aircraft will be able to undertake a variety of tasks envisaged on both the fronts simultaneously.

Q What will be the IAF’s new aircraft acquisitions, platforms and upgradations, by the end of the decade?

The IAF’s new acquisitions by the end of the decade would be as follows:

a) Global Request For Proposal (RFP) for Multi Role Combat Aircraft
b) Light Combat Aircraft

Considering that the IAF operates 26 types of aircraft, and the infrastructure created for Mirage was for 150 aircraft against 40 presently with the air force, would it be wise to procure an entirely different aircraft like the F-16?
The infrastructure created earlier is for Mirage-2000 H/TH version. Even if we procure Mirage 2000-5, we would require additional infrastructure for the new avionics, radar and weapon systems.

Infrastructure is normally created for the number of aircraft likely to be procured. In case of the Mirage 2000, the infrastructure caters to the aircraft presently held by the IAF and not for 150 aircraft. The ministry of defence has not accepted procurement of 126 aircraft through a single vendor, and accordingly, a global RFP to all known vendors would be issued as per the defence procurement procedure.

Q What do you think about the recent Russian offer for joint production of the MiG-29M2 aircraft to cater for the requirement of 126 medium weight multi-role aircraft?
What is the sense of the US offer of F-18 aircraft, which like the Su-30 falls in the heavy aircraft category, to India ? Will the IAF consider this offer?

All offers would be considered when we receive formal and detailed responses to our RFP which is yet to be issued. Vendors are free to offer any aircraft they wish to but it should meet all the requirements specified in the RFP.

Q What is the operational need for an Aerospace Command and what all assets will come under it? What is the government opposition to its formation? What is the relation between induction of ballistic missiles with our adversaries and creation of Aerospace Command?

India has adequate capability in space today which is being exploited for civilian use. Military application in space, however, has lagged behind. We strongly feel that the primary reason for this is the lack of a central organisation to coordinate and manage space issues. This void would be filled if an Aerospace command is formed. The IAF is modernising and can transform itself into an aerospace force if there is due focus and appropriate measures are taken. Such capabilities exist in our region and it is essential that we don’t lag behind. Towards this end, we have made our case with the government which is considering the proposal.

The command is not about the ownership of assets, it is about utilisation of space based assets, training etc. Yes, when the nation has dedicated military satellites and other space vehicles, this command would control them. The government has no opposition to an Aerospace Command. In fact, it was the standing committee on defence, which in 2000, in its report to the Lok Sabha recommended that the requirement of an Aerospace Command be taken seriously. It urged the MoD to ensure time-bound action in this area. It reiterated its opinion in the subsequent reports too.

There is no relationship between the ballistic missiles in our neighbourhood and this command. A missile threat demands Ballistic Missile Early Warning (BMEW) and Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD). Satellites can be used for BMEW but BMD from space is closer to ‘star wars’. BMD are ground-based even in advanced nations.

Q In operational terms, how will the IAF thinking be affected by the formation of the Chief of Defence Staff?

The IAF thinking will not be affected by the formation of the CDS. The IAF is fully capable of meeting its operational commitments as directed by the government, through whichever medium these are communicated. If anything, formation of the CDS will enhance the synergy of joint operations conducted by the services.

Q Even as the IAF is going for multi-role aircraft in the heavy and medium weight categories to meet the dual requirement of strike and air superiority missions, which of the two missions will be more important in a short war?

In a short war scenario our aim will be to achieve maximum gains in terms of our defined objectives, at the earliest. This will need a capability to strike at the enemy’s centre of gravity while denying him the same opportunity. In short, offence and defence will be the two sides of the same coin and will have to be executed in tandem, neither being more important to the exclusion of the other.

Q How will the Air Defence Ground Environment System (ADGES) change after the procurement of Aerostat systems, Integrated Air Command and Control System, AEW&C centred on PHALCONs, and DRDO-produced smaller AEW&C called ISR systems?

The responsibility of Air Defence of the country has been vested with the IAF. With the induction of the Aerostat systems and other sensors, our effective radar coverage at low level will foresee a quantum jump. This would enable IAF to expand the radar cover for Air Defence operations. Procurement of AEW&C centred on PHALCONS and DRDO-produced AEW&C platform, will provide flexibility.

This will enable quick switching over from one sector to another including Tactical Battle Area and over the sea. The above two systems i.e., Aerostat sensors and AEW&C platforms, are being planned to be networked. The Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) would enable an integrated air picture for better command and control function.

Q How does the IAF propose to meet its present deficiencies of Low Level Transportable Radars?

The IAF has been projecting the requirement of additional LLTRs for a long time. The government had cleared the procurement of additional LLTRs in 1998 to make good the deficiency as per authorisation. The procurement process is on.

Q What progress has been made on the need to integrate all civil and military radars for better air space management in peace-time?

The government has accepted the need to integrate all civil and military radars. Adequate actions are being initiated at the ministerial level to ensure necessary coordination between the air force and civil aviation for integration of the radars.

Q How does the IAF intend to adopt network-centric warfare technologies and practices for enabling it to undertake precision-strike operations with greatly reduced sensor-to-shooter response time, and for engaging its targets in the future asymmetric battle space where platforms like UAVs, AEW&C systems, space-based surveillance/target acquisition sensors and weapons like the Prithvi SS-250 and BrahMos will be employed?

The IAF is building a state of the art wide area network (WAN), which will give multiple paths and adequate bandwidth to any entity in the IAF. The network is likely to be set up within a year. Redundancies etc are planned in such a way that all IAF entities would be able to take high-speed connectivity for granted. This is expected to cause a ‘rising tide’ effect where all activities of the IAF would improve by several notches in performance.

Simultaneously, we are putting up modern operational centres at Air HQ and at Command HQs where data from any sensor, availability of equipment, weapons and operational plans would be available making them effective Command and Control Centres. Other actions under way to improve the data available to the actual shooters are:

Setting up an imagery dissemination system. This would use the IAF WAN to ensure that latest UAV imagery and satellite pictures etc are available to pilots in real time. Once this is in place, precision target capabilities, both in terms of accuracy and response time, would improve markedly.
Merging of information available with operational directorates to present a unified view of operational data. This would improve shared situational awareness and synchronisation, which are the pillars of NCW.

All this will enable dramatic reduction in sensor-to shooter time and would greatly improve our efficiency and effectiveness to employ the air power assets, in future.

Q Is the IAF coordinating efforts with the army and navy to find innovative solutions to the issue of bandwidth allocations/limitations for the future battlespace in which secure tactical data links will be required for the real-time relay of voice/data/imagery?

The three services are setting up a joint network that will bring relevant entities of all the three services on one common, high speed network. Adequate bandwidth to cover real time voice/data/imagery is being ensured. The network is protected adequately for it to handle classified data. This is in addition to individual service WAN.

Q Why has the IAF been unable thus far to induct fixed-base cockpit procedure trainers and full-flight combat/mission simulators for fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft of Russian origin when such acquisitions are regarded as routine for aircraft of Western origin? What steps are being taken to rectify this anomaly?

The IAF is in the process of procuring simulators of all types of aircraft and helicopters. There is no distinction or difference in procurement of simulators for western origin or Russian origin aircraft.

Q How does the Air HQ see itself as becoming an integral member of India Incorporation when it comes to the promotion of India-made military hardware and technological/operational expertise to friendly countries, for instance Thailand whose air force was in India recently to test-fly the Su-30MKI and may eventually end up buying such multi-role combat aircraft?

The IAF has in the past conducted the training for MiG-29 aircraft for personnel of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). Also, other countries have requested that the IAF offer its services for training their personnel on the Su-30 aircraft. Their request is currently under consideration by us.

Q As the on-going induction of precision-strike weapon systems and their manned airborne launch platforms requires a high degree of flight and targeting proficiency, does Air HQ intend to create customised, fully instrumented ground-based test-ranges for practicing dissimilar air combat, beyond visual range air combat, as well as weapons delivery from standoff ranges?

The IAF is already on its way to establishing a semiautomatic air to ground range as a first towards instrumented ranges. This would enable us accurately assess the results of air to ground weapons deliveries. The next logical step would be to graduate to fully automated ranges. It must none the less be appreciated that to utilise a range for the purposes of dissimilar Air Combat and other air exercises the aircraft have to be modified for telemetry and a great deal of high tech infrastructure becomes unnecessary. This entails enormous expenditure, which the IAF presently can ill-afford as our priorities are different. Essentially it is a question of priorities, both operational and financial.

Courtesy : FORCE