Indian Defence Budget 2016-17
The allocation for Defence in the national budget presented to Parliament on 29 February 2016 is Rs 2.58 lakh crore (US $38 billion) which works out to be 1.7 per cent of the GDP but in addition there is considerable allocation for pensions. The defence allocation for 2016-17 is in fact 4.87 percent higher than last year’s 2.46 lakh crore (US $ 36.2 billion but which, considering the exchange rate then, would be equivalent to US $ 39.9 billion). Experts opine that with the funds being made available to the armed forces, it will be difficult to finance key modernisation programmes, including acquisition of new fighters, next generation submarines, variety of helicopters, missiles, artillery guns and so on (photo below of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with Prime Minister Narendra Modi).
In his interaction with select media on 4 March, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was confident that the Government of India would sign contracts worth Rs 1 lakh crore ($14.9 billion) in the next six months but on the continuing delays concerning finalisation Rafale contract the Minister stated that negotiations would continue “until we get the price we want.”
CCS clears purchase of two more Phalcon AWACS
On 1 March, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared acquisition of two additional Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) platforms worth Rs 7,500 crore ($1.1 bn). This is a follow-on order under the tripartite contract with Israel and Russia that delivered three Il-76-based IAI Elta Phalcon AWACS aircraft to India in 2009-2010.
The Il-76 Phalcon AWACS platform (also sometimes called A-50EI) plays a significant role in Indian Air Force’s NetworkCentric Operations, being able to detect aircraft, drones and cruise missiles from a range of 400 km. In addition to the three arrays comprising the EL/W-2090 L-band early warning radar located in a fixed radome, these aircraft have electronic intelligence (ELINT) and communications intelligence (COMINT) capabilities that intercept electromagnetic signals. The aircraft is used for command and control of friendly fighters, monitoring troop movements and build-up, and early detection of any aircraft, civil or military.
The CCS also cleared a proposal for the induction of a fourth BrahMos missile regiment and two more of Pinaka regiments for the Indian Army.
IAF has “lowest combat power in decade”
In a damning revelation, it has been reported that “the Indian Air Force is now at its lowest combat strength in more than a decade.” According to sources, the IAF’s senior leadership has informed the government about the gravity of the situation, with another three squadrons, a mix of MiG-21s and MiG-27s, phased out on 1 January 2016. This leaves the IAF with only 33 squadrons, well short of the government mandated 42 squadrons needed to oppose a simultaneous two-front confrontation with China and Pakistan.
Obsolescent MiG-21s (above) and MiG-27s continue to make up bulk of the remaining squadrons with a total of 11 units operating these types. A further 11 squadrons are equipped with the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, while there are six Jaguar squadrons and three squadrons each of the Mirage 2000 and MiG-29. Availability of the latter two types is also low at the moment, as both fleets are taken off line for comprehensive upgrades. The IAF aims to have 272 Su-30MKIs in service by 2020, and the MoD has set a 2018 deadline to begin production of 100 improved Tejas Mk.IA light fighters. Neither of these steps, however, will be enough to offset aircraft retirements planned over the same time period.