WHY INDIA NEEDS TO BOOST AMCA

The world has always been very dynamic in terms of geopolitical alignments. Few decades before, there existed two poles, which were pivotal to major strategic shifts, the US and Russia. But as we go by a famous proverb, change is the only constant thing in this world, China rose to power dramatically and it started influencing the geopolitics to a greater extent. Its role in changing the Asia pacific and South Asian strategic alignments is greater than what we think. And one cannot deny this fact, that India could be the fourth pivot in this game. With its flourishing economy, growing military capabilities and changing the age old mindset of restricted diplomacy, it is all set to join the ranks of the three major pivots. This ,of course ,is not an easy task, and the road ahead is full of obstacles. One such obstacle is the development of indigenous sophisticated weapon technology. Though India has developed its own 4+ generation fighter jet Tejas, and successfully inducted it into the IAF, it still has to develop good numbers of upgraded Tejas squadron , in order to gain the confidence of its future users.

Now talking about three major pivots, the US, Russia and China, one thing is quite common between them. Their military is heavily dependent on indigenous equipment. Where Russia and the US are almost self-sufficient in terms of defense equipment, they are also major suppliers of defense equipment. This gives them the power to twist the course of geopolitical alignments. China is on the same path and about to join them. Its new fifth generation fighter J-20 is in the trial phase and expected to join PLA anytime as near as 2018. After which it may have an edge over IAF. And one can not deny a possibility of China transferring this fighter to its all-weather ally Pakistan, and this would definitely not be a good news for IAF. However, India is also developing its fifth generation fighter T-50, FGFA in collaboration with Russia. But, surely, it will not be an indigenous fighter. Recently, possibilities of Pakistan acquiring Su-35 fighters came into news. It gives IAF some food for thought, as a majority of Indian frontline fighters Su-30 belong to the same family of fighters. Also, it is clear that Russia wants to work its own way when it comes to defense deals. What will happen if Russia develops another variant of Sukhoi/HAL FGFA, gives it a new name and then supply it to the neighboring countries? Can anyone deny such possibilities? Will too much foreign fighter dependency block the way of India in taking bold decisions? Will the supplier countries try to leverage this dependency for their own benefits? All these questions lead us to only one answer, and that is India must develop its AMCA program very soon at any cost. There must be a sense of urgency in dealing with this project. Apart from this, there is also a dire need to boost the Indigenous Jet engine program, which is a major road block in indigenous fighter development.

Having a homegrown Fifth generation fighter has its own benefits. First, IAF will have an air supremacy, as very few countries would be having their own indigenous fifth-generation fighter by then. And having FGFA at the same time will multiply our air power by many folds. Most of the AMCA fighters will be available at any given time. There will be no need to worry about the supply of spares stuck in a bureaucratic mess. AMCA project will also develop a healthy ecosystem for the next generation future weapon development projects. India will be free to select the countries it would want to transfer these fighters, and this will give India a better strategic depth and influence in the region as well as in the world.

AMCA project will need a lot of dedication, commitment, money, and talent. It will also need foreign as well as Indian technology partners. No doubt it’s one of the toughest and challenging projects by HAL and DRDO. But Government needs to keep this project on priority and take necessary steps to make it happen as soon as possible.

The post WHY INDIA NEEDS TO BOOST AMCA appeared first on Defence Update.

from Defence Update http://ift.tt/2e9OyxY
via IFTTT