Aerial warfare: India not capable of waging war on multiple fronts

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Thursday admitted it did not have enough planes to take on both Pakistan and China at the same time.

In a rare admission, Vice-Chief of the IAF Air Marshal B S Dhanoa told the media in New Delhi on Thursday that given the force’s depleting strength, it would be unable to “fully execute” an air campaign in the event of war on the eastern and western fronts, Times of India reported.

“Our numbers are not adequate to fully execute an air campaign in a two front scenario. Probability of a two front scenario is an appreciation which you need to do. But, are the numbers adequate? No. The squadrons are winding down,” Dhanoa said.

The IAF’s squadron strength has fallen to 33, down from the sanctioned strength of 42. Majority of those 33 squadrons are composed of Russian origin Su-30 jets, but they suffer from a poor serviceability ratio of around 55 per cent.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2016.