FRA TO THE FORE
THE MISSION STATEMENT OF
the US Air Force emphasises Global Vigilance, Global Reach and Global Power. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has rather more modest aspirations. Apart from its abiding concerns regarding China and Pakistan, it needs adequate operational capability across India’s expanded area of strategic and economic interest. However, even this limited region extending from the Persian Gulf to the Malacca Strait has been beyond the reach of IAF aircraft for most of its history.
For many years after Independence, the Indian strategic mindset remained primarily defensive and was concerned mainly with how to react to a possible incursion or attack from a hostile neighbour. Gradually the military establishment began to adopt a more proactive stance. However, since IAF aircraft were limited to bases in national territory, their combat radius was a paltry 350 km or so for aircraft such as the MiG-21 that formed the bulk of the fleet. This was nowhere near enough to reach all of Pakistan, leave alone China. Gradually deep-strike aircraft like the SEPECAT Jaguar and multi-role fighters like the Dassault Mirage 2000 and the Sukhoi Su-30MKI were inducted. Although these could cover Pakistan, much of China still remained out of reach. The IAF’s latest and much-delayed fighter, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) Tejas Mk 1 light combat aircraft, is comparable to a MiG-21 variant with a combat radius of just about 300 km without external tanks.
Therefore, in the year 2000, the IAF decided to purchase flight refuelling aircraft (FRA) as part of its efforts to enhance its offensive potential and become a true strategic force. This was a remarkable shift from the late 1970s when the IAF actually sought to remove the aerial refuelling plumbing fitted in its Jaguar aircraft. Nowadays most military aircraft come with inflight refuelling capability. The process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft to another in flight has various names such as air-to-air refuelling (AAR), aerial refuelling, inflight refuelling and tanking. The tanker, more properly called FRA, can transfer fuel to any kind of fixed or rotary-wing aircraft that has the necessary equipment. All major air forces now have FRA because they are a relatively simple yet powerful means to boost the capability of airborne platforms. Rightly reckoned as force multipliers, they convey considerable tactical advantages to the receiver aircraft. For instance, the receiver can remain airborne longer, which increases its combat radius or time on station. Alternatively, it can lift its maximum payload of weapons, cargo or personnel and minimum fuel (to stay within its take-off weight limit) and draw