MiG trainer to be phased out, IAF worried

But IAF officials insist the shortfall in MOFTU will be made up by drawing other MiG variants. Which means, bleeding the operational frontline units in the hope that the subsequent shortfall is made up when newer aircraft like the Sukhois or the Mirages are inducted.

That the IAF’s cup of woes is running over was evident from the extensive presentation it made. Fernandes was told the IAF lost more aircraft to ‘‘human error’’ than to ‘‘technical defect’’ between 1999 and 2002. The ageing and vintage design of a large part of the fleet is being cited as a major cause for crashes. Between 1999 and 2002, the IAF lost 49 aircraft due to human error and 28 to technical defects.

For an air force trying to squeeze out another 10 years out of the recently upgraded MiG-21 Bis, it’s a tough road ahead. Getting the design specifications from the original manufacturers, IAF officials said, is difficult, even with a licence to produce fighter aircraft at home. The Ambala crash involved a Jaguar made in 1997 by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

The aircraft had not even clocked enough flying hours for an overhaul. IAF officials called the crash a ‘‘first of its type in the aircraft’s history’’.