IAF squadron shortage being addressed, says Parlimentary panel

NEW DELHI, Dec 17: The number of IAF fighter squadrons has reduced in recent years due to phasing out of ageing variants of the MiG-21, the MiG-23 and the MiG-27 aircraft, and the “shortage” is being addressed through “multi-pronged” approaches to minimise the impact, according to a parliamentary panel report.
In the report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the Standing Committee on Defence also said the Ministry of Defence has informed it of the issue regarding “incidences of spying” surfaced in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the action taken.
“That four cases have surfaced in the last five years. All the involved personnel have been dismissed from the IAF. Amongst them, one of the cases has been handed over to civil police — he is undergoing trial in a civil court,” the ministry said.
The report is titled ‘Second Report (18th Lok Sabha) of the Standing Committee on Defence on Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Defence for the Year 2024-25 on — Army, Navy, Air Force, Joint Staff and Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (demand nos. 20 and 21)’.
“On the issue of depletion in squadron strength, the ministry apprised the Committee that the number of fighter squadrons has reduced in recent years due to the phasing out of ageing variants of MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft. The shortage in number of fighter squadrons is being addressed through multi-pronged approaches to minimise the impact,” the report said.The panel was also informed about the combat capabilities of the homegrown Tejas — a single-engine, fourth-generation, multi-role, light combat aircraft (LCA).
The IAF has contracted for procurement of 83 LCA Mk-1A and the deliveries were planned to commence from February 2024 onwards. Tejas Mk-1A programme has been “delayed” due to design and development issues. HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) has been asked to increase the production of Tejas, it said.
In addition, Tejas Mk-2 which is under design and development, will be a “day and night capable”, all-weather multi-role combat aircraft with adequate self-defence capability to operate in a “dense and hostile AD environment”, the report said.The Tejas aircraft, designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency in collaboration with the Aircraft Research and Design Centre of HAL, is manufactured by HAL.It came from the LCA programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India’s ageing MiG-21 fighters. (PTI)