Opinion Leveraging India’s air power: A force to reckon with

China’s growing use of its air force to implement its coercive foreign policy and revisionist strategies is evident in the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China Seas. Its recognition of India’s asymmetric air power advantage during the Depsang and Galwan crises has also led Beijing to deploy air power infrastructure in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The inclusion of the IAF in the Army’s regular border talks is an important development. Given the growing capabilities of the PLA’s air force, an increase in the deployment of Indian air power for political signalling and coercion in air spaces in disputed areas may not be far off. Pressing it into service in the Indian Ocean — the lifeline of India’s trade, commerce and security imperatives and indispensable to the stability of the region — is also a strategic necessity. All elements of the nation’s military power must be included in India’s security construct to ensure a wider basket of strategic responses and options.

The approval of the deal to procure 26 maritime versions of the Rafale combat aircraft underscores two aspects — the critical role of air power in the maritime domain and the enhancement of the much-needed interoperability between land-based air power of the IAF and carrier-based air power of the Navy. The US’s use of aircraft carriers — they have played a significant political role in its coercive diplomacy — seems to have had an impact on China. The two China seas and its ports are the wellsprings of Beijing’s economic power. Its security outlook is determined by the strategic concerns of the US and other nations frequenting the regional waters and airspace for reconnaissance, show of force and presence by exploiting the principle of “freedom of navigation”. China, therefore, seeks aircraft carriers to overcome the limits of its geography, assert its reunification strategy with Taiwan, counter maritime claims in the South and East China Seas and protect its sea lines of communication in the Pacific region.

India’s Defence Acquisition Council has approved the Rafale fighter for the Navy. But it will be at least four years before deliveries begin, not counting the time to operationalise the platform in its designated roles. What till then? Can the nation afford to wait till the Navy’s aircraft carriers become fully operational? Will they meet the maritime air power requirements required to position India as a global power? This is where the IAF’s strategic capabilities must be leveraged, while also expanding its multi-domain capacity by swiftly rebuilding its combat bench strength.

New Delhi seems to appreciate the Air Force’s vital role in India’s national and regional security, as well as foreign policy. That is evident from the seven air exercises that India has participated in this year with the air forces of the US, France, Japan, UK, Greece and the UAE, as well as the 12-nation mega air exercise planned in October-November. This is not only in sync with India’s bold foreign policy, but also signals international recognition of the IAF’s professional capabilities and the larger role of air power in the Indian Ocean and the Indo-Pacific regions. It’s also an affirmation of the salience of land-based power.

As China continues to pursue a strategy of expansion to “regain its perceived historical territories and maritime spaces”, India’s border issues with it are likely to get more complex. The direct access provided by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to the Arabian Sea — through the Gwadar port — and the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor which opens into the Bay of Bengal at Yangon and Kyaukpyu are vital to Beijing. They help it tackle its Malacca dilemma. From India’s perspective, both routes not only give China access to the Indian Ocean but also allow it to strategically sandwich India’s eastern and western coasts. The Gulf of Aden, Malacca and Sunda Straits are similarly of equal strategic importance to both countries. However, only India has the unique strategic advantage of dominating the airspaces over these vital maritime spaces with its land-based air power capabilities. This capability will significantly bolster India’s national security, its regional presence and geo-political standing. Engaging, training and exercising with the friendly regional air forces opens up several possibilities.

Leveraging air power offers several benefits — creating a unique hard power deterrence over the South China Sea, ensuring maritime and aerial freedom in the Indian Ocean region for all and enabling aerial access to strategically located air bases amongst friendly countries in the region. It also gives India the option of exercising its soft power by providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The writer, a retired Air Marshal, is a former Commandant, National Defence College