Over the last several years, the Indian Air Force has faced an evolved set of challenges both on the China Front and on the Pakistan front. There is new technology, new threats. But the Indian Air Force is countering all of that, joining us now to talk a little bit about where the Indian Air Force is in his area of responsibility. That is the Eastern Theatre. We are joined by a very special guest the air officer commanding in Chief of the Eastern Air Command. Air Marshal. Thanks, sir. Wonderful to be here. You know, it is significant, of course, that we have deployed the Rafael aircraft in Hashi in the east of our country. There has been significant Chinese infrastructure build up on their side. What sort of threat does their air base infrastructure and other infrastructure represent to our interests? Interestingly, actually, Eastern Air Command shares its boundaries with five countries. We start with Nepal. We go to China, go to Myanmar, to Bhutan and Bangladesh. And so actually infrastructure development is taking place all around us, on our own side also. I mean, we are not kind of falling short on that count, and you would have noticed and so would your listeners that a lot of infrastructure development is taking place in the Northeast as well. So in that terms, I guess infrastructure development goes on by every country attempting to match whatever it needs in terms of economic development in terms of infrastructure development, making available resources for its people. And I guess infrastructure development is well matched on both sides of every border. And so how well prepared are we in the Indian Air Force to defend against the evolving threats that we face from China? The entire gamut of warfare continues to evolve, and I guess you don't look at any one threat significantly by itself. You look at an overall development strategy and in that regard here itself from the Indian Air Force side, we are doing similar. If you look at the new inductions that we have, if you look at new tactics and procedures that we develop, if you look at new state of the art mechanisms that we've introduced here we have the latest aircraft. We fly. We have two squads of the Rafa, one of which is deployed here we have the S 400 deployed and I guess it's a continuous process. That's what we look at. China has focused a great deal on drone technology over the last several years, both in terms of the number, the quantity of manufacture, also the classes across from very small to very large again. What sort of threat does that represent? And how is that a potential area of concern for you as you guard our airspace, all emerging technologies, Whether I mean you talked about drone technology, whether it's drones, space, new it a I they are all new technologies, and they are increasingly being used for warfare. In that regard, you would have seen drone technology is proliferating all across the globe. I mean, you can look at whether you look at the healthy rebels using drones significantly in their area, or you look at what's happening in the Russo Ukraine campaign. Drone technology is proliferating all the time, and you get newer drones. You you've heard of cardboard drones lately, and, well, it's a challenge, and it goes in both hands. One you try and also match up in terms of developing your own, and the second is that you try and evolve mechanisms or technologies to try and counter whatever drones you expect to face. You'll find drones of every size and variety, and they are not restricted to the air domain at all. I mean, you find these days you find unmanned vehicles on ground, you find them on surface, you find them on the sea. It's a challenge, and we try and keep up with it. And so evolution is the constant learning lesson also from the Ukraine war. I mean, we've seen so many new concepts being tried. The entire spectrum of warfare appears to have changed in many respects. Is that something that you think about or the Air Force thinks about, looking at what's happening around and lessons as well, Without a doubt. Because, you know, not too long ago, unexpected wars in the modern world would be short and swift, but you look at it. It's been continuing from February of last year, and we are now almost 18 months into a campaign, and that is one major lesson that we need to take away because all of national effort would be required on either side. Whichever side is indulging in warfare to kind of support the campaign as also to withstand the onslaught. And I guess there are lots of lessons for us, including in the air as to whether it was drones that you pointed out, or just the very fact about merging an air campaign with the land campaign or about provisioning to assist the land campaign from air at all. There are multiple lessons for all of us, and we try and get the best of what information is flowing out of that campaign in order to continue to also look at it and how we will adapt it to use similar opportunities when they offer themselves in our area, or also to learn as to what an enemy could do and try and cater for it. Be seated in this gigantic hangar in front of the Rafa aircraft. Now this is It's fully been inducted into the Indian Air Force. We are ready to go to war with this, and that means that we've gone through the entire gamut of trading over the last few years and people don't understand that it takes time. It's not just acquiring the aircraft, so could you tell us a little bit about that process between when we first inducted the aircraft and now when we are ready to go to war with it now, we've had the RAA almost for five years. And given the fact that this is as cutting edge technology as exists anywhere across the world today, and with the India specific enhancement enhancements that have actually been incorporated into this particular variant of the Rafa, this is an extremely capable machine. And then along with it, if you don't train adequately, you would not be able to use the machine to its fullest extent. Towards that, I guess simulators have been a significant addition. And the A F simulator, one of which we have here itself, is an amazing device. It's a simulator that can do virtually everything that the aircraft can do and more because there are some things you simply can't do on the aircraft without endangering both life and material. And in that regard, we started from a good selection set. We had the initial lot of our pilots and technicians train in France and then we followed a train, the trainer mechanism, they came back and from then on we have actually now built up a significant pool both of air crew technicians as well as background personnel who are actually helping us to ensure that this cutting edge technology is used to its very best. Marshall. I've been interacting with your squadron pilots over here over the last couple of days, and I find that you know, they are across age groups and across experience levels. And I think it's interesting that in the Indian Air Force you aren't restricting your oldest or your best fighter pilots to your most potent platform you are bringing in young people. Is there a reason that you are doing that To be fair to the pilots who interacted with? Actually, I would like to believe they are the best, but it was not best by selection. Let's say we selected them across the board and we selected, of course, whom we assessed could take in that kind of training and actually take it to the next level. And therefore we expect that given the nature of the aircraft, the ability of the aircraft itself, its human machine interface and the ability of associated training aids that we have, I guess we will make that best bunch that we can have and by ensuring that they are across the entire spectrum like you mentioned, we ensure that with continuity we will have that kind of a rolling continuity enabled so as to continue using this aircraft well in the years to come. Emotion, you know, training is obviously, at one level, the lifeline of the Indian air. No training. I mean, if you train hard in peace and you can fight hard in war as well. How is that a very significant part of your responsibilities to ensure that you know, it's not just the aircraft, it's the men and women who pilot not just the Rafa, but every single platform that they are of a certain level, and they maintain that this is this is one thing very specific to the air Force. Unlike other avenues, you find that the Air Force continues to do even in peace, time, almost everything that it would do in actual operations or in wartime. And, of course, the only little difference being in terms of using whether live weapons or you use simulated weapons or you use smaller calibre weapons in terms of training. But whatever they do almost on a daily basis, is towards that training and so there are distinct timelines. There are distinct milestones to be achieved. There are a distinct number of various exposure opportunities to be given to each pilot so as to ensure that he has experienced that particular capability of the aircraft and utilised it and built up his own skills on that as we go along. You know, when we talk about the induction of the Rafal, a lot of people would suggest that we've got the fighters and we've got the weapons. But in fact there's a lot more than that. In addition to the India specific upgrades, there's the entire training infrastructure you mentioned simulators. But you know, we've redesigned our air bases with this aircraft in mine. So for the moment, Ambala and Hashi. So that's important as well. Air field upgradation Our airfields are also in fact, we've spent almost two decades now improving our airfield infrastructure significantly, which helps us operate in. It makes our operations especially take off and landing operations that much safer. And given the fact that we have better equipment on board the aircraft now, we can actually go into a more robust 24 7 operating capability. We had a project called the Modernization of Airfield Infrastructure Project, which has kind of added quite a lot of significant landing aids and take off AIDS to our air fields, which allows us to operate in all kinds of ways. We've gone into the IC C, which helps us kind of merge all our air defence assets and provide a fuse picture, which then provides redundancy. It provides greater awareness. It provides greater ability to detect and identify, and all in all enhances our capability. Let's talk about I. I was going to get to that domain awareness sensors across a spectrum you know of what is available to us. How does this compare with airspace or domain awareness? When you were a fighter pilot, Actively, What did you fight a pilot till the day you retired? I mean, no, but I I'm not an actor flyer anymore, But you're right, and it is quite a change. I mean, today it's almost seamless, starting from about the mid to late eighties. What we've gone on is ensuring that we actually have radar cover through most of our land mass and beyond. And importantly, the IC C has now provides a fuse picture, which then increases the overall capability of our controllers on the ground to be able to identify an aircraft to, firstly detect that aircraft, identify them, and they have to take appropriate action as also provide redundancy. I mean, today, somebody flying in this particular area could very well be controlled remotely from somebody sitting in Bangalore, and it is that fused picture that provides that capability. We also train very regularly now with foreign air forces. What has that experience been? Let's talk about the Rafael and if you like, with other aircraft as well in the fleet, because it's learning at one level without that. But more than that, it's also about how good you are. I mean, we want to know that there are three important issues about, you know, exercising with other nations. First, of course, is putting your foot forward to kind of be that diplomat. It increases your interaction. It allows you the opportunity to to mix up and get a good understanding of what they do, how they do it, how they go and improve their own TDPS and so learn and adapt. Most importantly, however, what it gets us is that amount of confidence. It's one thing to believe you are good. It's much, much better to see that you are good when pitted against somebody capable or possibly who you thought was equipped with a better platform makes a big difference, and that confidence level really helps Marshall. The other system, of course, is the S 400 which we've acquired. You briefly alluded to that. It's part of a tiered defence system. Again, it's not just planes in the air. It's also missiles being fired potentially from the ground as well. How is that again? Been a process of evolution. I mean, it has always been tiered at one level, but obviously the systems we have now are far more advanced than what we've had in the past. What has happened is that given the additional capabilities that these modern systems have and the fact that we've been able to merge them into that kind of a network domain, towards which the IC C has also provides a major impact, the S 400 allows you that opportunity to dominate a much larger portion of the airspace as also probably to take it beyond your typical borders and so be able to both find that enemy aircraft well before he is a threat, as also tackle him before he can serve to launch weapons, which then makes air defence that much more robust alongside. Of course, when merged with capable fighters when merged with the I CCS, which allows you better control capability, it all becomes a well fused single term air defence network. You know, we've also moved towards indigenous a lot of our sensors radar systems We are developing, of course, radar systems for rat aircraft as well. But we made a lot of progress in the radar systems. For example, surface missile systems. Is that indicative of a leap in our national engineering prowess? Actually, it was surprising to find out that way back almost about three decades ago. Part of the TR modules for the A R radar that was fitted on some of the high performance American fighters were manufactured in Mangalore. Really? So it was not as though I mean in portions. It was not as though the entire radar was manufactured here, but portions of the TR modules were actually being made in India, So it was not as though that the technology did not exist or that we lacked the industrial capability to follow it up. But probably since we were more reliant on procuring state of art systems, we have not given enough importance to developing our own. And I guess, is where that seeks to go. We have the capability, we have the industrial base to go with it. I guess what was lacking was the emphasis to put it together. And that's what's happening now. Would you not love to have a stealth aircraft in your arsenal or without a doubt, I mean, but then it's only human to want more. And today is stealth. Tomorrow could be sixth generation, and one could keep going on and on. Hypersonic are just around the corner. And that's how both warfare as also just humankind evolves. And it's always it's always good to have what's the latest on the block. But more importantly as we are seeing now, I guess it's even more important to have it built yourself. One final question Uh, space is to borrow the old cliche from Star Trek, the final frontier. But you know, in a sense, it's true also, and it's true for the Air Force as well. You don't restrict yourself to terrestrial airspace. You restrict yourself to air and space as a force. So tell us a little bit about about that aspect of you know, there is that continuum between air and space. The carbon line is merely a line on somebody's thought process. It actually doesn't exist over there. And as you as you climb higher, that little transition from air to space is almost almost indiscernible. Which means then that considering aerospace as one common domain is an important aspect, and there are capabilities out there. There are technologies out there that actually make that merge even more, even more simple. And so this this entire gamut about difference between air capabilities and space capabilities ought to be quickly pushed back. Because aerospace is, I would believe, one continuous domain. And in that regard it is an expansion of our own capabilities, and Israel has some wonderful capabilities that it brings to the table. And it is important now that we start to harness those capabilities as much as some of the other countries around us are doing so as to ensure that we actually make use of our own abilities towards improving our national defence strategy. Thank you, sir, thank you very much.
