India Prepared To Face The Chinese Threat : IAF Chief

In response to the US official reports of  China  deploying nuclear-capable missiles along the borders with India, the Air Force chief said the country was not 'worried' over these developments as it has own plans to deal with the situation.

"These are all known, it is nothing that we are worried about. We have our own plans and we are moving ahead with our own plans. These are the realities we have to deal with," Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne said in reply to a query. 

The Air Chief Marshal was releasing the brochure for the upcoming two-day 6th International Conference on Energising Indian Aerospace Industry beginning from September 22, 2011 in Delhi.

The US Pentagon reports have said that the Chinese People's Liberation Army has deployed nuclear missiles along the borders. The Chinese government has, however, denied the US reports.

The Indian Navy also denied reports of a London-based newspaper that a Chinese warship had confronted its assault vessel in the disputed South China Sea after it left Vietnamese waters in late July.

"The INS Airavat returned from its scheduled official deployment to Vietnam without any confrontation with a Chinese vessel," Navy spokesperson Commander PVS Satish said in a release.

When asked what India can learn from China in developing its indigenous aerospace industry, the IAF chief said: "One thing that one could learn from them is that they don't attempt to do everything themselves."

"Once you start the Research and Development and then wait and wait, then you make it the test-tube model, it takes you 20-30 years to finalise the project," Browne said.

However Browne was of the view that China got a fair amount of technology from outside.

He said that Chinese were spending a lot of money on R&D. In case of Indian Defence public sector units the investments in R&D is comparatively low.

Browne was of the view of cooperation with the private sector. But he said that the private sector need to upgrade its R&D.

In the recent past, India has deployed its fighter aircraft including the frontline Su-30MKI in Assam and is in the process of upgrading its Advanced Landing Grounds in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.

Asked about its plans to upgrade the Nyoma ALG into a full-fledged airfield, Browne said the proposal was with the Government.

He said that the deal for 126 medium multi range combat aircraft is likely to be signed by the year end.

“The Naresh Chandra Committee is likely to recommend better coordination between the service headquarters and the Defence Ministry,” he said.

The Indian aerospace industry is currently undergoing a phase of rapid growth and progressive transformation. With compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% over the last five years, India has emerged as a major aerospace market. Driven by the increased defence spending, the booming commercial aviation market, rising technological and manufacturing capabilities of Indian industry and robust economic growth, the Indian aerospace industry (civil, military and space), is expected to grow at minimum 12 to 14% annually during the next five years. The changing dynamics of this sector has eventually been unraveling new sets of challenges and opportunities for the industry players prompting them to restructure their short to long-term business strategies.

With maintenance, repair and overhauling (MRO) activities picking up mainly due to the significant and sudden rise in the total fleet size, India is expected to become the hub for aviation MRO facilities. The aviation MRO market in India is expected to outspace the growth in the global as well as in the Asian market very shortly.

The rapid growth of opportunities in this sector has been able to attract major global aerospace companies into Indian aerospace market. As per some estimates, India would require about 1,300 commercial planes worth $150 billion in the next two decades to meet the growing demands. With growing passenger movements and increasing military aviation demand, Indian aerospace sector is going to be the epicenter of opportunities for both domestic and international business communities. The upcoming 6th International Conference on Energising Indian Aerospace Industry in Delhi is likely to deliberate on all these issues.