Our Air Force is far ahead of China but… where is India left behind, Air Force Chief clearly told

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing long standoff with China on LAC in Eastern Ladakh, the Air Force Chief said that our Air Force is much better than China in terms of training and exposure. But we are behind China in terms of technology and speed of production of defense equipment. Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said that we are better than China in terms of human resources and training. he/she said that we have no intention of adopting an unnecessarily aggressive stance. Only when we are pressurized, we will do something… Our plans are ready.

‘Much better than China in terms of training’

he/she said that we are much better than them (China) in terms of training. We have more experience. We get to know how they take training and how many countries’ air forces they have contact with and how many we have. The Air Force Chief said that as far as technology is concerned, we are not so good at the moment. We were better than them before, but now we have lagged behind and we have to catch up.

What did the Air Force Chief say on Eastern Ladakh?

Regarding China’s ever-expanding infrastructure on the other side of the LAC and the situation in Eastern Ladakh, the Air Force Chief said that the situation in Eastern Ladakh is technically the same as it was a year ago. We are just seeing that infrastructure is being built rapidly on the other side of the LAC. We are trying to match him/her. Our new airfields are being built and work is going on at a fast pace. We are also working on increasing the capacity of our already built airfields.

‘We are paying attention that the fighter squadron should not be less than 30’

he/she said that the plan is also to use civil infrastructure. There are advance landing grounds in the central sector, we are in touch with the state governments to either take them over or at least get assurance that they will also be available for our operations. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said that our target is that by 2047 the entire inventory should be either produced in India or developed and produced in India. On the decreasing fighter squadrons, the Air Force Chief said that we are also paying attention that the fighter squadrons should not be less than 30.

‘We cannot depend on one agency’

he/she said Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) should now live up to its promise of producing 24 aircraft every year to compensate for the delay. Emphasizing the need for private sector participation, he/she said that we cannot depend on a single agency. Even HAL will have limits, especially when such large numbers are required.