India has signed a deal to buy 26 Rafale aircraft from France, the total cost of this deal is about 630 billion Indian rupees or 7.4 billion US dollars. These aircraft are being bought for the Indian Navy, however, the Indian Air Force also has about 36 Rafale aircraft bought from France.
But the question arises, why did India need such expensive aircraft?
The answer is simple, the Indian Air Force is operating with only 31 squadrons instead of the required 42 squadrons. This shortage of aircraft has become a constant headache for Indian officers in view of the tense relations with neighboring countries like China and Pakistan.
Due to this shortage of aircraft, the Indian Air Force has also been reluctant to decommission old aircraft and its fleet still operates infamous aircraft like the old Soviet-era MiG-21.
Since its inception in 1964, the aircraft has become a symbol of death, but not for the enemy but for its own pilots.
Since its inception in the Indian Air Force, the MiG-21 has been involved in more than 400 accidents, in which more than 200 Indian pilots and more than 60 civilians have lost their lives. Due to this poor record, these aircraft are known as the ‘flying coffin’ or ‘flying coffin’ among Indian pilots.
This flying coffin also made global news when Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s MiG-21 was shot down in Pakistani airspace during the Pakistan Air Force’s Operation Swift Retort in 2019, after which Abhinandan had ‘fantastic’ tea in Pakistan.
So why is such an infamous and old aircraft still flying in Indian airspace?
The reason for this is the delay in the production of the new generation aircraft. The first squadron of the Indian-made ‘Tejas MK1A’ aircraft was to be ready in July 2024, but the delay in the delivery of the engine has left the Indian defense industry, and especially Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, in a quandary.
The frustration of the Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Amarpreet Singh over the delay in the delivery of Tejas came to light when he expressed his anger at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited during an air show in February this year.
A video of the occasion also went viral in which the Indian Air Chief is telling the officials of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, ‘You have to address our concerns. I cannot trust you at this time, and this is a very dangerous thing!’
In the light of this statement of the Indian Air Chief, if the current Indo-Pak tensions and India’s escalating tensions are seen, then for some reason only a cup of tea is seen.
