Moving to synergise operational requirements of the Indian Air Force, the government has approved the creation of a new Weapon Systems branch which will be responsible for all IAF weapon system operators, and bring them under one roof.
Making this announcement, on 8 October, at the Air Force Day parade in Chandigarh, the first outside the Delhi NCR, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said, “On this historic occasion, it is my privilege to announce that the government has approved the creation of a Weapon Systems Branch for officers in the IAF. This is the first time since Independence that a new operational branch is being created.”
“This will essentially be for manning of four specialised streams of surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, remotely piloted aircraft and weapon system operators in twin and multi-crew aircraft. Creation of this branch will result in savings of over Rs 3,400 crore due to reduced expenditure on flying training,” he said.
Later, a senior IAF officer, explaining the need for a dedicated branch for weapon systems, said the establishment of a separate branch for missile system operators, unmanned aerial vehicles and weapon system officers of two-seater aircraft is an effort to synergise operational requirements which differ from active flying.
Pointing to the induction of more missile systems with complex operational dynamics and the future establishment of an Air Defence Command with integrated air defence assets of all three services, the officer said there was need to do away with piecemeal deployment of officers from non-specialised branches and institutionalise the non-flying operational cadre.
A long-felt need
Bringing all weapon system operators under one roof addresses a long-felt need in the IAF, ensuring a dedicated cadre. A specialised branch will facilitate induction of more complex weapon systems.
“Basically, the weapon systems operator in a twin-seater aircraft does not have to be a full-fledged pilot as his core competence is handling the weapons on board. We can gradually build up this cadre and phase away pilots from doing this task, thereby making him or her available for flying duties,” the officer said.
This separate branch is also expected to include officers who specialise as intelligence analysts and operate intelligence-gathering tasks in unmanned aerial vehicles as well as space-based assets. Here again, the need for building core competence in a separate branch has long been felt by the IAF brass, given the increasing role of UAVs and space assets in information gathering and advance warning.
The officer also referred to the accidental firing of a Brahmos in March and said an analysis of the incident had reinforced the belief that a dedicated cadre of missile commanders must be built.
In his address, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said the induction of Air Warriors into the IAF through the Agnipath scheme is a challenge, but more importantly, it is an opportunity to harness the potential of India’s youth and channelise it towards the service of the nation.
“We have changed our operational training methodology to ensure each Agniveer is equipped with the right skills and knowledge to start a career in the Air Force. In December this year, we will be inducting 3,000 Agniveer Vayu for their initial training. This number will only go up in the years to come to ensure adequate staffing,” he said.
He said IAF is also planning on induction of Women Agniveers starting next year. Creation of infrastructure, he said, is in progress and streamlining of trade structure is being finalised.
From continued deployment along the borders, Humanitarian And Disaster Relief (HADR) operations to rescuing stranded Indians from conflict zones, the IAF has seen the entire spectrum of roles and tasks.
“The traditional domains of land, sea and air have expanded to include space and cyber. We are increasingly seeing the convergence of all these domains into one continuum in the form of hybrid warfare. The use of non-kinetic and non-lethal warfare to supplement kinetic means has changed the way wars will be prosecuted. Therefore, conventional systems and weapons will need to be augmented by modern, flexible and adaptive technology.”
“Technology has given us the wherewithal to be innovative. We need to accept the fact that tomorrow’s conflicts cannot be fought with yesterday’s mindset. To be able to execute all missions in an environment of denial will increasingly be the basis of our training in the Air Force,” he said.
Keeping these aspects in mind, the IAF chief said, there is a need to plan for integrated and joint application of combat power. “The key to success in multi- domain operations is to have flexible, robust Command and Control Structures which will allow a joint force to dominate across domains. No single service can win a war on its own. Work is in progress to enhance jointness amongst the three services,” he said.
The theme for this year’s anniversary celebrations – ‘IAF: Transforming for the Future’ — is very apt and highlights the Indian Air Force’s need to redefine, reimagine and recalibrate to transform into a contemporary and future-ready force, he said.
“Our fighting potential has to be sustained over the years through the induction of 4.5 Gen fighters, AWACS, AEW&C and flight refuelling aircraft. We have initiated necessary steps to ensure our fighter squadron strength remains at the desired level. Indigenous development of six AEW&C Mk-II has been sanctioned and we are actively pursuing the acquisition of ISTAR, UAVs, Counter UAS technology and strengthening our networks,” he said.
Modern armed forces, he said, have to be sufficiently self-reliant to ensure minimum disruptions. “Towards this, Atmanirbharta and Make-in-India are a step in the right direction. Our indigenous operational network AFNET, the backbone of all air operations IACCS, one of the largest maintenance management protocols
e-MMS and the fact that we are completely paperless in our offices through the e-Office application is a testimony to our commitment towards becoming self-reliant,” he said.
The LCA, ALH, Akash surface-to-air missile, Astra BVR, LCH and Brahmos, he said, are a few examples of the indigenous hardware that has already been inducted and operationalised.
He said the IAF has signed a contract for 83 LCA Mk 1A and is fully committed to the development of LCA Mk-II and the AMCA.
“The advent of drones, swarm drones, hypersonic weapons and space based ISR systems have added a new dimension to war fighting. To effectively handle the full spectrum, artificial intelligence is being used for quicker decision-making and analysis of big data. I am happy to report that several projects are well underway to utilise the potential of automation, data analytics and artificial intelligence to transform our operational philosophy,” he said
