- A Sukhoi Su-30 aircraft. India's plans to bolster its air force include upgrading more than 50 airbases along the Chinese and Pakistan border.
- Image Credit: Bloomberg News
New Delhi: India will introduce an advanced fighter jet it is building with Russia in 2018, a move that will bring sophistication to its air power but could also spark unease among neighbours China and Pakistan.
New Delhi has watched warily as China has made rapid strides in defence, worried that Beijing's long-term strategy for the region could involve encircling India.
Indian military commanders have stressed greater firepower as a counter-measure, particularly for the air force. The fifth generation fighter aircraft joint project with Russia is part of that strategy.
"The fifth generation aircraft would possess technologies which would provide it [India] the edge over adversaries in future air warfare," P.V. Naik, the Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), said in a written statement.
"China is rapidly modernising its air force. On our part, the IAF is reviewing its tactics regularly to increase its combat potential," Naik said.
India's plans to bolster its air force include upgrading more than 50 airbases along the Chinese and Pakistan border, he said.
Under strain
Traditionally, any move by India to acquire new weaponry has been met with similar moves by Pakistan, putting already fragile regional security under further strain.
The aircraft, billed as a competitor to the US F-22 Raptor, can fool sophisticated radars and will be able to take off from short airstrips and remain in the air for longer than the current fighters, air force officials say.
India's air force says it has more than 800 active combat aircraft but is dwarfed by China's, which has more than 2,000 fighter aircraft.
New Delhi has watched warily as China has made rapid strides in defence, worried that Beijing's long-term strategy for the region could involve encircling India.
Indian military commanders have stressed greater firepower as a counter-measure, particularly for the air force. The fifth generation fighter aircraft joint project with Russia is part of that strategy.
"The fifth generation aircraft would possess technologies which would provide it [India] the edge over adversaries in future air warfare," P.V. Naik, the Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), said in a written statement.
"China is rapidly modernising its air force. On our part, the IAF is reviewing its tactics regularly to increase its combat potential," Naik said.
India's plans to bolster its air force include upgrading more than 50 airbases along the Chinese and Pakistan border, he said.
Under strain
Traditionally, any move by India to acquire new weaponry has been met with similar moves by Pakistan, putting already fragile regional security under further strain.
The aircraft, billed as a competitor to the US F-22 Raptor, can fool sophisticated radars and will be able to take off from short airstrips and remain in the air for longer than the current fighters, air force officials say.
India's air force says it has more than 800 active combat aircraft but is dwarfed by China's, which has more than 2,000 fighter aircraft.
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