Editor,
The man over machine debate rages on recently during a training exercise involving a SEPECAT Jaguar, a third-generation fighter aircraft, in Gujarat’s Jamnagar resulted in the death of a 28-year-old pilot, causing concern about the depleting squadron strength and upgrades to older aircraft. The Indian Airforce cited a technical malfunction that caused the ejection, but a 2017 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General revealed that of 108 Jaguars in service, only 35 had autopilots. China’s 2024 defence budget increased to 7.4 percent! (International Institute for Strategic Studies). A sobering reminder that Beijing’s power projection is also gaining a foothold in the fringes of Northeast India.
While countries like Great Britain, Oman, amongst others, have retired the Jaguars many years ago, but with time advancement in avionics, fly-by-wire, payload and engine performance, such aircraft are expensive to be maintained and flown with due risks. Changes in environmental conditions to circadian rhythm, excellent pilots do strike a balance, but to support such efforts, government clearance to buy better aircraft such as F-15 Strike Eagle or Eurofighter Typhoon would give our pilots a much-needed boost. Thereby giving venerable jets like Jaguar to find space in the museum along with the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 Foxbat.
Currently, the Indian Airforce is participating in the 12 day multinational air exercise INIOCHOS-25, hosted by Greece’s Hellenic Air Force, sharpening interoperability, combat readiness, dog fighting capabilities in a time when air warfare is changing faster. ‘Lockheed Blackbird: Beyond the Secret Missions – The Missing Chapters’ by Paul F. Crickmore indicates why some super high end aircraft still find their way in the History books.
Christopher Gatphoh,
Laitkor Rngi, Shillong
