Purchase or perish

Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik was quite unequivocal about the state of the Indian Air Forces equipment at a press conference in New Delhi on Monday. Half of it,he said,is obsolete. He did add that,in his opinion,the IAF was quite capable of carrying out its defensive role. But,nevertheless,this is a statement that should be viewed with genuine concern. It is,of course,to be hoped that Naik,as well as the other service chiefs,do not just jolt the establishment with such statements that they underscore them with substantive and detailed inputs to the government.

While disturbing,this cannot be considered altogether surprising. The IAFs requirements are technology-intensive. Aside from the big ones the hundreds of fighter planes required surface-to-air missiles and air-defence systems are also needed. Meanwhile,over at army HQ,the situation is not too different. One far-from-isolated example: in August this year,an eight-year quest to modernise Indias artillery resources,a quarter-century old now,ran up against a brick wall,as trials for a new 155-millimetre gun were cancelled because of a fear that defence procurement procedures were being violated a fear stated,but not backed up with an FIR. These requirements,of course,will necessarily be met by foreign contracts; because the establishment has consistently found itself unable to visualise an expansion of the defence-industrial base in proportion with Indias growing needs,instead pushing public-sector producers that have definitively proved they cant meet demand.

If these concerns are being put to the armed forces civilian controllers as bluntly as they have been to the rest of us,there is little question where the responsibility lies: at the top. The defence ministry under A.K. Antony has consistently found itself unable to spend its budgetary allocation. This,at a transformative,pivotal period in Asias history,as Chinas military rises inexorably,and Indias neighbourhood generally remains turbulent. China has expanded its border infrastructure,updated its hardware. The differential between Indian and Chinese capabilities has reached scandalous proportions. This is,more than anything else,a failure of political will,for which the highest political authorities should be held answerable. These challenges should be addressed not just by Antony but by the prime minister and his party too.