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Rafale, S­400 Crucial To Our Air Defence, Says IAF Chief


Date:- 13 Sep 2018


Rahul Singh  

Indian Air Force chief BS Dhanoa on Wednesday firmly backed the ₹59,000 crore Rafale deal, saying the fighters would significantly enhance the IAF’s capabilities at a time when India’s two nuclear-armed adversaries (China and Pakistan) are swiftly modernising their air forces. Such emergency procurements have been made under government-to-government agreements in the past, too, he said. “By providing the Rafale and S-400 (air defence missile systems, which are being bought from Russia), the government is strengthening the IAF to counter the shortfall of our depleting numbers,” he said.

Dhanoa said different governments of the day had ordered two squadrons each of MiG-23s, Mirage-2000s and MiG-29s for the IAF in response to Pakistan upgrading its air combat capabilities since 1983.

Addressing a seminar, IAF Force Structure: 2035, he said, “These procurements were made under the umbrella of the Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA).” The air chief marshal stressed such deals speed up procurement and are the quickest route to upgrading operational capabilities. The Oppositionhas sharply attacked the government over its decision to order two Rafale squadrons (36 planes) through a government-to-government deal with France by scrapping the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime’s decision to buy 126 Rafale aircraft in a deal where 18 would be brought outright and 108 assembled in India by stateowned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. India and France signed the deal in September 2016 as an emergency purchase to arrest a worrying slide in the IAF’s capabilities.

Dhanoa said India has to match the force levels of its adversaries so that it can fight a two-front war with China and Pakistan. “What we do not have are the numbers…Even when we do have 42 fighter squadrons, we will be below the combined numbers of the two regional adversaries,” the air chief said. The count of India’s

rahul.singh@hindustantimes.com

Courtesy: The Hindustan Times: 13th Sep. 2018