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Despite Rafale Boost, Why Indian Air Force Remains ‘Ill-Equipped’ To Battle Chinese PLAAF Over The LAC?

As the 13th round of talks between India and China to resolve the standoff in Ladakh ended without any agreement on Sunday, the possibility of a localized conflict has once again reared its head. In this scenario, air forces on both sides will play a crucial role, if the conflict escalates.

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Is the Indian Air Force (IAF) ready to counter and get the better of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF)?

The challenges facing the IAF are multifold. From hostile neighbors which present a collusive threat to its fleet, which is not only dwindling but also fast getting obsolete with slow induction of newer combat aircraft and not in the numbers required, IAF is surely in a tight spot.

The service has been trying for many years to shore up its combat aircraft strength to the magic figure of 42 squadrons, with each squadron having 12 to 18 aircraft, which according to planners, is the ideal number if India is to face Pakistan and China simultaneously, a scenario, which was hypothetical in the past but is very much possible now.

The China Threat 

In 2019 when the Pulwama attack happened and IAF Mirage 2000s carried out aerial surgical strike on a terror camp in Balakot inside Pakistan, India’s borders with China were comparatively peaceful.

But the situation has dramatically changed since April 2020 when Chinese soldiers entered eastern Ladakh at a number of points, occupied territory, and refused to go back.

Now, not only IAF has to keep watch on the Line of Control (the de facto India-Pakistan border in the Kashmir Valley) but also on the Line of Actual Control, the disputed border between India and China.




IAF Rafale
A fly-past during the formal induction of Rafales into Hashimara airbase in eastern India on July 28. (Image: IAF)

Since last year IAF has also deployed Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000, newly inducted Rafale, and Jaguar fighters at key airbases in the region to counter the Chinese PLAAF.

The total number of combat aircraft in IAF service is just over 600 while PLAAF has twice that number and most of them are modern jets while India still is straddled with museum pieces like the MiG-21 and Jaguar, which have been kept in museums or used as gate guardians in countries of their origin — Russia and the UK, respectively.

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Sukhois Unreliable?

The problems encountered by the Su-30 MKI, the most numerous type in the IAF with over 250 in service have been a constant source of worry for the IAF. The availability rate of the aircraft is less than 50 percent, meaning less than half of the strength, just over 100, is available at any given time, which is alarming.




Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Indian Airforce – Wikimedia Commons

If war breaks out, just 100 Sukhois will be ready to fight. Out of the rest, the Mirage 2000s have the best availability and reliability rate and that is the reason why it has been preferred over the Su-30 to undertake key strike missions despite entering service nearly two decades before the Su-30.

The Rafale is expected to better the Mirage but it is still entering service. IAF would be heavily relying on the limited number of French jets that are battle-tested, having proven their mettle in Afghanistan, Mali, Libya, Syria, and Iraq.

The Rafale is outfitted to carry a variety of munitions based on the operational profile of a mission. The Rafale can sport deadly armaments including the MICA, Meteor, Hammer, and SCALP missile. 




Rafale Aircraft

Rafale’s versatility makes it a powerful deterrent against both conventional and asymmetric threats, but how will it match against PLAAF’s numerical edge or its much-hyped stealth J-20 fighters cannot be envisaged.

Of the rest, MiG-29 is a pure interceptor with secondary strike capability; Jaguar is a strike aircraft, which because of its anemic engines, will not be able to perform with full battle load in Ladakh. The MiG-21 Bison is on its last legs and it is just a point defense fighter, totally outclassed in this day and age.

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