Cautioning against the duplication of assets by the three services, Vice-Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal S.B. Deo on Friday said that jointmanship among the services was not just about joint operations but also about the optimal use of resources.
“Ours is a growing country and our budget is limited. We cannot afford duplicating capabilities…We cannot have an Air Force with the Army, an Air Force with the Navy and another Air Force,” said Air Marshal Deo, addressing the 14th Subroto Mukherjee seminar organised by the Centre for Air Power Studies and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
His comments came against the backdrop of the Army aggressively pushing for its own dedicated fleet of attack helicopters. Recently, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had approved the procurement of six AH-64 Apache helicopters from the US. In addition, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat recently called for the primacy of the Army in a tri-service environment.
The Army has put forward a demand for 39 Apache helicopters to equip all its strike Corps and the Government recently approved the acquisition of six. The IAF is already in the process of procuring 22 Apaches from an earlier deal.
The Navy is expanding its fleet of carrier-based fighter aircraft. It is currently scouting the global market for 57 fighters, which will join the 45 Mig-29Ks in service to operate off the present and future carriers.
Air Marshal Deo also put forward the IAF’s opposition to the concept of ‘theatre commands’. Observing that the area of operations are limited, he referred to the capabilities of the air assets in reaching long distances.
“When we did the first cross-border strike, our helicopters flew all the way from Pathankot for any eventuality,” he added, referring to the surgical strike by the Indian Army on insurgent camps inside Myanmar in 2015.
The concept of creating theatre commands has been a touchy issue between the three services and discussions have remained inconclusive.
