Promoting Indigenisation in IAF

What is the issue?

IAF must stop ignoring domestic manufacturers and instead promote more indigenisation in the defence sector.

What are the concerns with functioning of IAF?

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) has long preferred to import rather than build its own aircraft through the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• This is done especially by delaying the placement of manufacturing orders to the HAL.
• This has happened in the recent cases of the Tejas Mark 1A and the HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft that were to be made by HAL.
• Hence, this is disrupting the smooth and uninterrupted flow of HAL’s aircraft assembly lines.
• The IAF cites the resultant delay and expense of these actions to further criticise HAL and argue for more imports to meet critical needs.
• IAF also engages in non-payment of bills for aircraft and services already delivered by HAL, adding cash-flow issues to them.
• This neglect of indigenous manufacturers, combined with the IAF’s poor force planning, has resulted in its fleet consisting of seven different types of fighters so far.
• This logistical nightmare in peacetime could become an operational nightmare during war.

What should IAF learn from naval logistical operations?

• In contrast, the navy has embraced indigenisation half a century ago and now operates mostly Indian warships.
• It has systematically created the ecosystem needed for designing and building warships in the country.
• It has instituted its own design bureau, a directorate of indigenisation, and ensures that carefully chosen admirals head the four DPSU shipyards that build its fleet.
• Unlike the navy, which has taken ownership of the process of designing, developing and manufacturing warships, the IAF prefer to move away from HAL.
• Hence, the IAF should ensure a steady flow of recently retired air marshals to head the organisation and make them conform to the its own requirements.

What should be done?

• India has long been the world’s largest importer of defence equipment.
• However, unlike other large importers such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, India has a well-developed industrial base, skilled workers and a large and well-qualified pool of scientific manpower.
• As one of the world’s largest automotive component manufacturers, and as a leading space power, India has demonstrated its ability to conceive, plan and achieve high-technology outcomes.
• And as the navy has demonstrated, this can be done in the field of defence.
• However, in the field of aviation, it has failed to leverage its large defence budget to build capacity within Indian industry.
• The situation has changed now and India now actively promotes initiatives to boost indigenous production.
• The defence ministry has ordained that Indian-designed, developed and manufactured weaponry will be top priority for procurement.
• A “Defence Production Policy” has declared that India will become one of the world’s top five defence producers by 2025, with defence exports multiplying 10-fold to $5 billion that year.
• But this will remain on paper until the IAF follows the navy’s lead and starts developing an ecosystem of domestic aerospace vendors by ensuring the flow of indigenous projects.
• India holds a defence budget as high as the US, China, Russia or the European nations, yet ignoring its key domestic manufacturers.  
• Thus, the situation must change by reducing our reliance on defence imports and pave the way for more indigenisation.

Source: Business Standard