Indian Air Force : Updates & Discussions

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IAF might be able to acquire retired recently retired Polish or Romanian mig-21s. Since they don't seem to want anything modern or new.
 
Blame rests on your beloved Uncle Sam and GE.

Anyways, this situation is only temporary and once GE starts to supply the engines in promised quantities, our situation shall most definitely improve.

PS: More Rafales should be ordered ASAP, with or without MRFA. Period.
Blame isn't on uncle Sam or GE. It's totally and squarely on us. Your line of thinking resembles the current state of Pakistani people & establishment, and I know it will hurt.

Disruption in supply chain is globally known as I know first hand how much Indian enterprises suffer specially due to short term, piecemeal orders and lack of foresight on both government and private sector instead having the courage to do what they must if we are become a hard power.

Nothing more nothing less.
 
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Blame rests on your beloved Uncle Sam and GE.

Anyways, this situation is only temporary and once GE starts to supply the engines in promised quantities, our situation shall most definitely improve.

PS: More Rafales should be ordered ASAP, with or without MRFA. Period.
Really? Blame someone else for being a decade late?
 
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This much has always been done.
Blame rests on your beloved Uncle Sam and GE.

Anyways, this situation is only temporary and once GE starts to supply the engines in promised quantities, our situation shall most definitely improve.

PS: More Rafales should be ordered ASAP, with or without MRFA. Period.

Blame rests with ADA for delaying the development of Mk1.
 
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I think the IAF's is 1.5. Not enough basic trainers. They are training just 100 per year.
Many pilots are on desk jobs or away for training. This reduces the ratio in actual squadron. But during war, all these people come back to their respective squadrons. Like some are away for QFI course, some for FCL/FSL course or some maybe posted to AFA and other training establishments plus the pilots posted in HQs. When you take these pilots into account, the ratio comes to about 1.75:1
 
Many pilots are on desk jobs or away for training. This reduces the ratio in actual squadron. But during war, all these people come back to their respective squadrons. Like some are away for QFI course, some for FCL/FSL course or some maybe posted to AFA and other training establishments plus the pilots posted in HQs. When you take these pilots into account, the ratio comes to about 1.75:1

IAF is sanctioned 4200 pilots in total. And something like 1900 aircraft. So that's around 2.2:1 if everything is up to standard across the board.
 
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IAF is sanctioned 4200 pilots in total. And something like 1900 aircraft. So that's around 2.2:1 if everything is up to standard across the board.
Don't forget that most IAF fighters are two-seater, while transport planes are usually two to four people, and helicopters are usually two people
This method of comparison is completely wrong
I remember when I first looked at India in 2020, there were many articles about the shortage of pilots in India
 
Many pilots are on desk jobs or away for training. This reduces the ratio in actual squadron. But during war, all these people come back to their respective squadrons. Like some are away for QFI course, some for FCL/FSL course or some maybe posted to AFA and other training establishments plus the pilots posted in HQs. When you take these pilots into account, the ratio comes to about 1.75:1
You can't do that. A pilot who wants to remain qualified must maintain a minimum number of flight hours per month, If you leave a flying job for a clerical or other job, you'll need to retrain on a simulator and trainer before you can fly again
 
I remember a long time ago there was a report that, according to April 2015, a report by the Defence Committee of the Indian Parliament, The Indian Air Force's fighter-to-pilot ratio is 1:0.81, well below the required ratio of 1:1.25.
This was the story at the time about India's crippling shortage of fighter pilots
 
I remember a long time ago there was a report that, according to April 2015, a report by the Defence Committee of the Indian Parliament, The Indian Air Force's fighter-to-pilot ratio is 1:0.81, well below the required ratio of 1:1.25.
This was the story at the time about India's crippling shortage of fighter pilots
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The Air Force does not have a shortfall of pilots today. There is no point in recruiting the full authorized numbers if there are not enough platforms. In fighters alone, we have a shortfall of 10 squadrons.

Authorized numbers are good to have but not required. Imagine thinking that a nation with a population of 1.5 billion "lacks" pilots because they couldn't find enough talent.

Do you have corresponding ratio for PLAAF ?
 
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The Air Force does not have a shortfall of pilots today. There is no point in recruiting the full authorized numbers if there are not enough platforms. In fighters alone, we have a shortfall of 10 squadrons.

Authorized numbers are good to have but not required. Imagine thinking that a nation with a population of 1.5 billion "lacks" pilots because they couldn't find enough talent.

Do you have corresponding ratio for PLAAF ?
Concerted effort are in place to address the shortfall at the earliest
At least that was a veiled reference to the pilot shortage, which has not been conclusively resolved
The number of pilots has nothing to do with the population of your country, it's more about the IAF pilot training model, the number of IAF flight academies, the number of trainers, the number of flight simulators,
 
Do you have corresponding ratio for PLAAF ?
China, of course, won't disclose the exact percentage, but it still highlights the current shortage of pilots through open state media. With a large number of advanced fighters in service and the retirement of older fighters, the Chinese Air Force needs a large number of new blood, and the traditional model of pilot training is no longer able to provide enough high-level pilots.
For example, the current pilot training is from CJ-6, JL-10, J-11BS/J10AS three-level training system, so as to quickly train four generations of aircraft pilots
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After these three levels of training flight cadets, when entering the combat forces have mastered the fourth generation of fighter flight skills, So they can quickly form a fighting force
 
Concerted effort are in place to address the shortfall at the earliest
At least that was a veiled reference to the pilot shortage, which has not been conclusively resolved
The number of pilots has nothing to do with the population of your country, it's more about the IAF pilot training model, the number of IAF flight academies, the number of trainers, the number of flight simulators,
They have to put the standard disclaimer because it's about public accountably because of the perceived shortfall.

In the last 5 years everything improved.

China, of course, won't disclose the exact percentage
Not asking anything exact obviously.
 
Don't forget that most IAF fighters are two-seater, while transport planes are usually two to four people, and helicopters are usually two people
This method of comparison is completely wrong
I remember when I first looked at India in 2020, there were many articles about the shortage of pilots in India

Yes, so the 2.2:1 ratio meets the requirements. Anyway it refers to pilots alone, not additional crew not involved in flying.
 
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Minimum ratio for fighter fleet is 2.25:1. IAF and IN even today have just 1.75:1. That is the amount of fighter pilot shortage we have.
And left out IAFpilots are perishing inside mig21. Sad reality, future generation will curse bjp government harshly than we used to do on Congress today for the incompetence in defence sector.
 
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