IAF Need 100 Su-57, 100 AMCA and 200 Rafales to Challenge China's 300 J-20 Stealth Fighters

India's air power capabilities are facing a critical challenge in the face of China's growing military might. According to senior journalist Vishnu Som, India needs to make significant investments to achieve parity with China or risk facing a precarious security situation.

China's possession of nearly 300 J-20 stealth fighters underscores the urgency of India's situation. The acquisition of 50 additional Rafales, while a valuable addition, would not be sufficient to neutralize this threat. A comprehensive and aggressive approach is needed to bolster India's air power.

Key Strategies to Address the Challenge​

• Immediate Acquisition of Su-57 Fighters: India should consider purchasing 100 Su-57 fighters, provided they meet the advertised performance standards. These advanced stealth fighters could provide a significant deterrent against Chinese air power.
• Accelerated Development of AMCA: The development of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) should be a national priority. India needs at least 100 AMCA jets, with the initial iterations meeting a minimum acceptable technology threshold.
• Expansion of Rafale Fleet: The Indian Air Force should acquire 200 Rafales to replace its aging fleet of MiG, Mirage 2000, and Jaguar aircraft. These fighters would serve as the primary heavy-hitters in India's air power arsenal.
• Modernization of Su-30 Fleet: The Su-30 fleet should be stabilized at 80 highly upgraded fighters. These aircraft could be used for heavy standoff weapons, as mini AWACS, and as standoff jammers.
• Production of Tejas Mk2: India should invest in and speed up the manufacture of Tejas Mk2 fighters to strengthen its low-end air power spectrum. A fleet of 50-60 Tejas Mk2 fighters could provide valuable capabilities.

Challenges and the Way Forward​

Implementing these strategies would require substantial financial resources and political will. India would need to allocate significant funds to defence, which could impact other sectors of the economy. Additionally, there may be challenges in acquiring the necessary technology and expertise to develop and manufacture advanced fighters.

The decision of how to address India's air power dilemma will depend on a careful assessment of the risks and benefits. While the cost may be significant, the consequences of failing to invest in air power could be even more severe. India must take decisive action to ensure its security in the face of growing regional challenges.

 

[Anil Tiwari]

By the time out defence procurement gurus arrange to procure these many aircrafts maybe aircrafts themselves will become out of date and only Missiles will be used.

 

[Santosh]

One has to be realistic. India, at present, cannot match China in all aspects of defence.
Spend the budget available wisely. Get the biggest bang for your bucks.
Make any nation think twice before attacking India.

 

[R. Singh]

India need 169+ AMCA-II, 126+ F-35A ,145+ F-15EX-II ,145+ RAfale F-5 with MUMT to defeat PLAAF in swift war ! We also need 200+ GHATAK-Unmanned bombers, 12+ B-21 raiders ! Third largest Indian economy should be prepared to generate funds for these assets !

 

[Dr. Saptarishi Chatterjee]

Vishnu Som Sir has highlighted very crucial point. The suggestion should be taken as a wakeup call for the defense ministry. But you see the MOD will only wake up when there is a Kargil, Dokhlam, or similar situation, where India will have to loose either its manpower / Equipment/ Land.

The type of slow and Tortoise pace wont serve the Indian Defenses much in future with the slogan of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The Aatmanirbhar Bharat programme has compromised several critical defense procurements in near past and will have very little impact in coming future the reasons and facts are highlighted below-

1. Some may be pointing out that the Naval vessels are now mostly indigenous- No its not, majority of the naval vessels are using engines from Zorya-Mashproekt a Ukrainian Company.
a) AESA Radars are mostly from Israel.
b) Except Bhramos, all the other Air defense/ Cruise missiles are imported either from Israel/ Russia/ France/ USA e.g Exocet, Harpoon, Club series, or Barak.
c) The Torpedoes for the newly made Scorpene subs are from Germany.
c) The most crucial systems are still being imported.

2. We can see the Tejas MK/MK1/MK2 series of Blunders. Most of the outer structures , wiring, wheels, which don't require and major research are made in India that too requiring foreign help. The GE 404 Engines were selected in such a period during 1997/98 when we were testing our nuclear bomb, which invited sanctions. So we had a good time to develop our own Kaveri Engine, but no proper funding has resulted a faulty and under powered Engine of practically no use ( Waste of Tax payers money). This resulted in a Fighter aircraft without an engine. Mostly creating a hypothetical Image in minds of Thousands of Indians that we have achieved something great or we will be achieving something great in Future (AMCA), but reality is alarmingly dangerous.

3. The Arjun Tank is a epic blunder where we can see the 1st Tank during 1991 and till date only 124 Tanks were made, out of which due to wear and tear, at present date only 55-65 Tanks are actually operational mostly used in ceremonial purposes like 26th January/ Republic day parade.

4. The INSAS Blunder- Forget the above the DRDO was unable to make a proper gun for the infantry and still it is unable to make. During Kargil war the Infantry service men were facing jamming of the gun during a fight with the insurgents who were using heavy caliber automatic AK 47. This caused several casualties.

5. The recently introduced Zorawar tank is another cheap joke which DRDO is playing with general public. 80-90 percent of the tank is using foreign components and branding them as Make in India.

6. Without proper R & D and without proper funding, this has become common practice by the PSUs to assemble an equipment and portray that the same is Made in India.

MOD / Govt should analyze and ask itself, whether we have any actual capability of making something Indigenous or its just to satisfy the public and get brownie points during election, starting with Slogans like Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India etc. Wasting Huge funds / Time in PSUs like HAL, DRDO, DRDL, is going to be proving dearer and costlier....

Current situation of Indian defense sector is very grim and concerning as Vishnu Som Sir pointed above, where in one hand we are facing China and on the other hand, with help of China even Pakistan is expanding its defense sector with induction of J10 / J 31 Stealth fighters, in addition to JF 17. One can say the Chinese equipments are of very poor quality and will not work, thats a complete lie, and is just to satisfy ones ego. Chinese Military Hardware is world class and we can see the capabilities of mass production, I think one should go and have an experience of the bullet train China has built and even exported to Indonesia.

Forget China & Pakistan for the time being, recent news have highlighted that "Bangladesh Seeks to Boost Defense Capabilities with Artillery Ammunition from Pakistan"

I think, Its a warning call for the MOD to wake up and take credible decisions in a ASAP mode. Coming days wont give you much time to do talking or thinking, and it will be no surprise to see Chinese Aircrafts wandering over New Delhi.....

 

[sanket]

yes I always said Bharat may Buy atleast 2 to 3 sqad of Su-57 in Future

 

[Vivek Sahgal]

The biggest force multiplier is more AWACS we don't even have as many as Pakistan does this can be done relatively quickly. Tankers for air to air refueling is another quick item to get we have 6 that is not enough. Don't buy Russian aircraft enough said we have seen their performance in Ukraine. Get more Rafael's a flee of those or F15-EX would be a great air superiority fighter jets.

 

[sanket]

The biggest force multiplier is more AWACS we don't even have as many as Pakistan does this can be done relatively quickly. Tankers for air to air refueling is another quick item to get we have 6 that is not enough. Don't buy Russian aircraft enough said we have seen their performance in Ukraine. Get more Rafael's a flee of those or F15-EX would be a great air superiority fighter jets.

Dou mean Israels Fighter jets are performing good,But still Israel war is on on on & on

 

[Anant]

Let Mr. Som also come up with the idea on just where we should get the money for 100 Su-57s and 200 Rafales from.

I mean, if only giving proposals is enough, here's mine: Acquire 200 Su-57s, 500 aircraft under MRFA, increase Tejas Mk 1A and Mk 2 production to 50 aircraft a year and place orders for 1,000 aircraft there. Also ensure AMCA is ready next year and get 1,000 of those as well. Moreover, let's get 5,000 tanks better than the Abrams and K2 to immediate retire the T-72s and T-90s for the Army. Also, let's scale up our Armed Forces by a factor of 2 and complete the modernisation tomorrow.

Sirf proposal dene se ho jaata hai to yeh raha mera proposal. Let Mr. Som ensure it is done OTIF.

 

[tipoo2]

If the US-India Defense Cooperation Act passes, that includes a more permanent CAATSA waiver so we can arm ourselves as best we can vs China, which ironically would better open the door to a larger Su-57M order without worrying about sanctions.

Given how late an update to the Tejas MK1 is, god knows when we'll actually get the AMCA, and that's just getting the first units, let alone squadroning up and learning how to incorporate it in doctrine. So I'm definitely warming to the idea of a perhaps 3-4 squadron order of the Su-57M to tide us over till then and gain operational knowledge on fifth gen which could have inputs on AMCA too.

 

[tipoo2]

The biggest force multiplier is more AWACS we don't even have as many as Pakistan does this can be done relatively quickly. Tankers for air to air refueling is another quick item to get we have 6 that is not enough. Don't buy Russian aircraft enough said we have seen their performance in Ukraine. Get more Rafael's a flee of those or F15-EX would be a great air superiority fighter jets.

I think they have 6 more Netra MK1A ordered and then the much improved MK2, we're projecting to land at about 18 AWACS which is respectable, landing between Pakistan and China, which is just where we are in many senses lol.

Also the data linked Super Su-30 with the Virupaksha radar will be able to do mini-AWACS duty which will be good

 

[Deepak Hegde]

What is the journalist Som's credibity ? Does his so called suggestions even make fiscal sense. May as well ask the Tau at the chaupal for his suggestions as well !! Why does an esteemed website like Defence.in publish such jokes ??

 

[PKPRS]

yes I always said Bharat may Buy atleast 2 to 3 sqad of Su-57 in Future

What other choice GOI has, but his only dumb statement is buying 200 Rafale’s, does he want India to go bankrupt, may be if he pays $60-70Bln from his bank account, what is the need for expensive 4th gen Medium weight jet, why not buy a cheaper 4th gen jet like F21, Gripen, F/A-18 or even MIG-35, any way we are going to upgrade SU-30’s and make Tejas MK2 in the next 15-20 years.

 

[M S Chatterji]

Those 300 J-20 are much inferior based on copied technology. These will all go to the South China front, where they face the American/Taiwan might. Only a few will end up in Himalayas where taking off with full load fuel or bombs is not possible from 5,000 feet airfields.

 

[CCPSmasher]

Well, that's a given. When you cant even subdue a failed islamist pakii land how we can man up against a deep resourceful and cunning PLAAF. Here we can't even colcusively end MRFA tender we started.

 

[Anant]

I think they have 6 more Netra MK1A ordered and then the much improved MK2, we're projecting to land at about 18 AWACS which is respectable, landing between Pakistan and China, which is just where we are in many senses lol.

Also the data linked Super Su-30 with the Virupaksha radar will be able to do mini-AWACS duty which will be good

The present projection is for 25 AWACS: 3 Netra Mk 1s, 6 Netra Mk 1As, a d 6 Netra Mk 2s. This may, at some point, be followed by a theoretical 6-8 Netra Mk 2As or Netra Mk 3s, thereby reaching the IAF's goal of 18-20 AWACS. These latter aircraft will, however, enter service in the late 2030s, and will be the replacement for the Netra Mk 1.

 

[Dredd]

yes I always said Bharat may Buy atleast 2 to 3 sqad of Su-57 in Future

which will come in after a decade.

 

[Dredd]

Let Mr. Som also come up with the idea on just where we should get the money for 100 Su-57s and 200 Rafales from.

I mean, if only giving proposals is enough, here's mine: Acquire 200 Su-57s, 500 aircraft under MRFA, increase Tejas Mk 1A and Mk 2 production to 50 aircraft a year and place orders for 1,000 aircraft there. Also ensure AMCA is ready next year and get 1,000 of those as well. Moreover, let's get 5,000 tanks better than the Abrams and K2 to immediate retire the T-72s and T-90s for the Army. Also, let's scale up our Armed Forces by a factor of 2 and complete the modernisation tomorrow.

Sirf proposal dene se ho jaata hai to yeh raha mera proposal. Let Mr. Som ensure it is done OTIF.

the number he suggested is absolute necessary for 2 front war with 2 5th gen and nuclear capable neighbour. He has already mentioned that it will break the bank , but you don't have choice when national security is at the stake. Decades of incompetence of ADA , DRDO and HAL, and ignorance of govt has put us on this spot when you are not left with any choice but be vulnerable and mercy of enemy.

 

[Benith Israel]

Licence produce Super sukoi new airframes to replace 114 MRFA requirement. Procure 40 more awacs based on C-295 and operate them from forward airfields. Jointly develop stealthy MALE UAVs with Israel for reconnaissance near border areas. Network the awacs, UAVs with SU-30 super sukoi and rafale. This is how you counter stealth. 50 Rafale will not change anything. But I believe there is base infrastructure for 36 more Rafale. So buying 36 more is prudent.

 

[Ajath Shri]

Licence produce Super sukoi new airframes to replace 114 MRFA requirement. Procure 40 more awacs based on C-295 and operate them from forward airfields. Jointly develop stealthy MALE UAVs with Israel for reconnaissance near border areas. Network the awacs, UAVs with SU-30 super sukoi and rafale. This is how you counter stealth. 50 Rafale will not change anything. But I believe there is base infrastructure for 36 more Rafale. So buying 36 more is prudent.

Where are the funds for 40 AWACS ?