I read a report today that 100 Sukoi planes, the teeth of the Indian Air Force have been grounded after the second plane crashed recently. I had read not long ago that the Russian Air Force has grounded all their MIGs after they identified structural design defects in them. Indian pilots had crashed a number of MIGs before. There are also reports that Indian Air Force is short of about 125 fight planes. Yet I hear the Defense Minister claiming that Indian defense forces are capable of facing any threat from any front. Honorable Defense Minister needs to review his department’s capabilities, honestly assess its needs and repair the damage being done to India’s defense. I don’t want to be disrespectful of the individual holding the position of the Defense Minister, but I ought to be honest in my appraisal and remarks that the Indian defense is vulnerable, its personal and resources are sitting ducks in a conflict, Indian security and territorial integrity is in deep peril and the Indian politicians and bureaucrats are playing with fire by lying to the people of India.

At the same time I would say that air force pilots of other countries also fly those planes. The question India needs to ask is if (1) Indian pilots flying those plains have adequate simulation experience on those flying machines (2) do they have adequate guts to last until the last second before they bail their “a*s” out of those planes and (3) is there sabotage involved. They are not dud machines. If people don’t have the guts and technical competence required and mental stamina to handle them, they will be unforgiving. Quality of the machine is not dependable if the operator is untrained or does not have the competence to operate it. IAF should increase the number of simulation training hours for its pilots flying those costly machines and should not routinely fly these machines on “routine training assignments.” I would say what is going on is a reflection of the incompetence in the Defense Ministry’s political and bureaucratic leadership, the holes in Indian security apparatus and level technical standard of IAF pilots. IAF should conduct a serious study of the resources lost on account of “human resources error” and evaluate the idea of having flying machines at all under such adverse circumstances.