http://www.epw.org.in/showArticles.php?root=2005&leaf=04&filename=8525&filet ype=html
EPW Commentary April 16, 2005 Offer of F-16 Aircraft India Needs an Effective Air Force, Not a Bloated One With many plans on the table for the IAF to make major acquisitions, it is necessary to consider the fact that multirole combat aircraft, along with upgrades to existing assets, and force multipliers such as airborne warning and control systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, surface-to-air missiles, and a network centric warfare capability coupled with a greatly improved security environment give India the unique opportunity to build a modern, effective and affordable air force. C Manmohan Reddy .. ... ... .. ... ... Finally with India importing nearly three-fourths of its hydrocarbon needs, these need to be secured especially when they will increasingly be sourced from as far away as Sakhalin and Venezuela. A prime need is therefore for the Indian Navy to have adequate surface combatants and a maritime strike capability to protect India's trade and other off-shore interests. The latter could best be achieved by the IAF transferring its sole maritime strike squadron of Jaguars to the Indian Navy, as was done with the maritime reconnaissance Super Constellations in the 1970s. In 'exchange', the navy could be persuaded to transfer the 16 new MiG-29s it has on order to the IAF. These modern multirole aircraft need little modification (removal of their arrestor hooks and so on) to convert them into potent land based fighters. (Something very similar was done last year when the French navy was asked to surrender its two-seat Rafale fighters to its sister service, the Arm�e de l'Air.) The Indian Navy could then negotiate for an equal number of post-1994, F-18 C/Ds from the US Navy for less than half the cost of new aircraft. These very capable aircraft are about the same size as the MiG-29Ks and have the advantage of having had all the bugs ironed out of them over a quarter century of carrier borne service. .. ... ... .. ... ... ---------------------------- 1) I still dont see the sense in expecting the Navy to protecting our maritime trade interests in peace time! Oil supply lines from Venezuela and Siberia? Wow! 2) His proposal for palming off the MIG 29s to the Air Force in lieu of F-18s makes a lot more sense except that the former are probably irrevocably tied to the purchase of the aircraft carrier from Russia. The MIG 29s will put a real spanner in the spokes of any effort by Goa to ease the Navy out of Dabolim. Oh well... ----------------
