Nearly 16 years ago, on 7 March 2003, HAL developed HJT-36 Sitara subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft took to air promising to replace aging HAL HJT-16 Kiran as the Stage-2 trainer for Indian Air Force. The project was first sanctioned at with initial funding of Rs.180 crore in 1999, way before even first LCA-Tejas fighter aircraft had first made its flight.Since then 12 limited series-production HJT-36 plus Two Prototypes were produced over the years but after back to back crashes in 2007 and 2009, the whole project has been under spiral tailspin without any sign of recovery of the project. HJT-36 program now has been officially cut off from Government funds and our new pilots are forced to fly aging Kiran trainer jets which are also likely to be retired soon. The irony is that HJT-36 Sitara was first solo project of HAL after HF-24 Marut program. HAL is the same company which boasts of manufacturing fighter aircraft like Sukhoi-30MKI at the same duration, yet it was not able to fix problems of its own creation.Billions of Indian Taxpayers money has been wasted to support a Public sector company which has always disappointed its forces, while opposition to argument its own agenda is seen backing HAL to manufacture Rafale fighter jet for the Indian air force, Question is, do Indian Taxpayers have to really pay the bill for a product which is sometimes twice or thrice more expensive than what it could have cost India in first place if we had procured it directly from abroad ? In name of building local expertise and in name of transfer of technology, we have spent an outrageous amount of money just that we allow some of the employees of these public sector companies keep their jobs for vote bank politics ?.While HAL boosts that it has manufactured Sukhoi-30MKI locally in India from Raw material stage and can do the same if given chance to manufacture Rafale in India. But can it actually make aircraft of same caliber it boasts of if given a chance? if the answer is no then it time HAL start focusing on basics and stop limiting itself as a screwdriver company which can only assemble jets designed and manufactured by others .If India requires assemblers where Indian Taxpayers have to pay twice or thrice the cost of the same product and have spent more on manpower and in return get a slow delivery schedule and low-quality products then what difference does it make if it is manufactured by Ambani or a Panwallah without any prior experience in aviation.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the country’s geostationary military communication satellite GSAT-7A onboard Geosynchronous Launch Vehicle GSLV-F11 from Sriharikota. The 2,250-kg GSAT-7A has a mission life of eight years. The satellite has been built to provide communication capability to the users in Ku-band over the Indian region.GSAT-7A was the seventh launch of 2018 from Sriharikota and marks the 69th mission of GSLV-F11 for ISRO. GSLV-F11 is ISRO’s fourth generation launch vehicle with three stagesThe launch is extremely significant for not just ISRO but for the Indian Air Force as well because it promises to boost how fighter jets communicate with each other during flight time. According to ISRO, air-to-air and air-to-ground communication can be enhanced with the satellite receiving and amplifying signals from jets and then relaying them to another jet or a ground station.In addition, it promises to help drones in conducting surveillance-based operations. Unmanned drones can also be controlled better. The 2,250-kg GSAT-7A has a mission life of eight years. The satellite has been built to provide communication capability to the users in Ku-band over the Indian region.
A parliamentary panel headed by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has expressed “serious concern” over Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s “failure” to provide the required number of Tejas aircraft to the Air Force, adversely affecting its combat potential and posing a security threat. The Public Accounts Committee report on ‘Design Development, Manufacture and Induction of Light Combat Aircraft’, tabled in Lok Sabha on Friday, said there were huge delays in the development and induction of the supersonic fighter jet. This resulted in two LCA squadrons not materialising and the IAF having to upgrade several aircraft, including the MiG-BIS, MiG-29, Mirage-2000 and Jaguar aircraft at a cost of Rs 20,037 crore, the report said.
Tejas is an indigenously developed single-engine light combat aircraft. The programme to design, develop and manufacture the LCA was sanctioned by the government in 1983. The phasing out of MiG-21s had to be revised and the IAF is operating with 35 squadrons as against 42 squadrons sanctioned. The MiG-21 and MiG-27 squadrons would be retired over the next 10 years, the committee, headed by Kharge, observed.
The panel comprised 22 members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, including from Trinamool Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, Biju Janata Dal, Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party. “The committee is disappointed to note that the failure of HAL/ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Ministry of Defence to provide the required number of aircraft has adversely affected the combat potential of the IAF resulting in security threat to the country,” the panel said. The report comes at a time the Congress has been sharpening its attack on the government for French company Dassault Aviation overlooking the state-run HAL while choosing an offset partner for making Rafale fighter jets.Congress president Rahul Gandhi had interacted with HAL employees in Bengaluru in October when he accused the Modi government of “destroying” the strategic asset HAL and told them that “Rafale is your right.” The panel observed that the development of the LCA was aimed to arrest the falling number of fighter aircraft due to the “ageing and obsolete” MiG-21 and MiG-27 fleet to maintain the minimum squadron strength of the IAF. “However, the project was plagued with various technical issues resulting in timelines being extended due to which the government had issued Request for Information under the framework of the Defence Procedure 2016 to global vendors for procurement of other combat aircraft such as the American F-16, Globemaster C17, Russian Sukhoi Su-30 and Su-35, European Typhoon, Swedish Gripen-E, French Rafale etc,” it added.The HAL, ADA and its work stations are miserably failing in its R&D to have much-needed technology in the aviation sector, the panel observed. “The committee notes with serious concern that due lack of R&D in the aviation sector, the country has to shell out of thousands of crores of rupees for procurement of both combat as well as civil aircraft from foreign countries. It is needless to mention that in times of war, it would be difficult for the nation to procure combat aircraft from unfriendly countries,” the report said.As of July 2018, the IAF has only got nine out of its requirement of 200 fighters and 20 trainer aircraft envisaged in the Air Staff Requirements, the panel added. “The ADA/HAL have also not been able to provide IAF with even a single production standard trainer aircraft till date. Further, since HAL could not augment its capacity in line with the demand of the IAF, the IAF will have to depend on imported aircraft for a longer time, given its dwindling squadron strength,” the panel said.
The Supreme Court today laid to rest the flurry of allegations pushed by the Congress and Rahul Gandhi about the Rafale fighter deal. In its judgement it said “We have no doubt about process. Quality of aircraft not in doubt. Our country can’t be allowed to be unprepared.”
For a leader (I use the word loosely) and a political party, for whom, wild allegations seem have become the backbone of his/its political strategy – these three sentences from the judgement should be compulsory reading like errant students in primary schools. The dismissal of the petition lays bare Rahul’s Shoot-And-Scoot strategy of wild lies and allegations – ranging from claims of NPA waivers for corporates to corruption in government contracts.
The Government and MoD in particular was at first, caught on the backfoot by this strategy and their initial responses were less than stellar to the barrage of propaganda and lies unleashed by the Congress. What was particularly unforgivable was the way Rahul Gandhi carried on this propaganda despite the damage to national security. It required the Air Chief and two serving Air Marshals to come out and clarify the process in and outside of court. From early on, to many It was obvious that this Rafale noise was a distraction from the real scam in AgustaWestland helicopter purchase. It was also obvious that the information that Rahul Gandhi was using was at the behest of some competitors of Dassault. But as I love repeating in the context of Rahul Gandhi and the Congress – the truth has an unfailing habit of coming out. Today, it has. The Dassault Rafale as explained by the IAF leadership is a state of the art platform giving the IAF air superiority over both the Chinese and Pakistan Airforces. The Rafale was selected during the UPA period being the lowest bidder. But the UPA government did not sign the deal for reasons that are still hazy. The Air Force was pushed into a corner as the years had slipped by without a decision and its operational capabilities were clearly diminishing because its last real platform acquisition was almost 3 decades old ie the Su-30MKI.So the requirement of the 36 Fighters or two squadrons that were bought in fly-away condition from the vendor was because IAF was dangerously under equipped. Urgent because for over a decade the UPA government deliberately and dangerously dithered over its decisions. At a time when it was widely known and recognized that IAF was flying old aircraft, young pilots were taking great risk in flying them and that there was an overall depletion of operationally ready aircraft compounded by an militarily aggressive China – the UPA government spent precious scarce Airforce resources on buying AgustaWestland VIP helicopters for the Cong first family instead of deciding on a cutting edge nuclear delivery capable fighter platform. The Narendra Modi recognized the need to move urgently – bit the bullet with the urgent acquisition for 2 urgently needed squadrons in a comprehensive package that could make the new aircraft operational in the quickest possible time. Since a substantial portion of discussions had already been completed, the inter-government contract was signed in 2016 For the medium and Longterm requirement of the Airforce, the government laid the roadmap for a MakeInIndia program for the balance 100 odd fighters with a vendor and public/private sector company that would be selected through a tender. That is the correct strategy for the Nation – on one hand empower the IAF in the short term and build real military manufacturing capability in the long term. Cost of Political Mudslinging The Congress has a long illustrious history with Scams. As recent articles showed even the Jaguar deal in the 70s involved then Defense Minister being “looked after” by the same set of worthies as those involved in the VIP Helicopter scam. It is clear that the Congress would rather have the people of India forget about its long and dubious history and instead believe that about the current Narendra Modi Government. But that’s a doomed to fail political strategy. The supreme Court judgement reinforces the Narendra Modi government credentials and reinforces its determination to clean up decades of vested interests in the Delhi corridors nurtured and supped in various Cong tables. While lieing and propaganda may be legitimate political strategies in the minds of Rahul and his advisors – what is unforgivable and criminal is the impact of their infantile lies on national security modernization and on the psyche of the minds of those who serve in uniform. Some stories are so bad it should make us all angry. For instance, no other Airforce in the world is flying the Jaguar in 2018 other than the IAF. The Air Force is now planning to upgrade these and give a fresh life of another 25 years. The IAF had been compelled to continue with the old aircraft since new inductions invariably get stuck despite funds being available. While the politicians fought, and bureaucrats sat on files, time took its toll. It got so bad in the nineties that we were compelled to procure some 20-30 grounded MIG-21s from East European countries. This second-hand purchase was necessary to keep the IAF going. Fastforward to today and Over two decades later, nothing seems to have changed with the Congress. Back to scoring petty political points, pushing the military preparedness of our Armed Forces behind. I believe that there MUST be consequences for these kinds of dangerous lies and falsehoods spread by political leaders. The Nation and its security and strength of its Defence Forces cannot and should not be allowed to be played up by this kind of politicking. For Rahul Gandhi, this judgement poses a new set of challenges- For a leader that has invested heavily in a political strategy of bizarre lies and propaganda to gain attention – Today’s judgement will also make people wise to the next flurry of political lies hurled by Rahul Gandhi. He has taken a new fancy to quoting Leo Tolstoy recently in his tweets and this one from Leo Tolstoy is apt for him “Anything is better than Lies and Deceit” Narendra Modi has really taken on the tough job full of minefields of modernanising our Armed forces. It took his politically tough decisions to break this acquisition deadlock with confidence in his Governments ability to navigate the tricky world of Defence deals with Integrity and commitment. The men and women tasked with our Nations security trust him to do the best by them and the forces. That his Government is committed to Sahi Vikas with Saaf Niyat got reinforced yet again today.
There is no reason for the court to sit in judgement on the correctness of the Rafale jet deal, the Supreme Court said today, in a massive relief to the government, which had been accused by the Congress of corruption in the Rs. 59,000-crore deal for 36 fighter jets. Petitions alleging that the government had gone for an overpriced deal to help Anil Ambani’s company bag an offset contract with jet-maker Dassault also didn’t wash with the court, which said: “There is no evidence of commercial favouritism to any private entity.” Here are the top 10 updates on the Rafale deal case in the Supreme Court: “We can’t sit in judgement over the wisdom of purchase of aircraft,” said a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, adding, “Our country cannot be allowed to be underprepared.” It is “not the job of this court to go into the differential pricing details, which must be kept confidential,” said the judges, on petitions accusing the government of going for an overpriced deal. Petitions demanding a court-monitored investigation into the deal were filed as the Congress and other opposition parties went hammer-and-tongs at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, accusing it of crony capitalism. The Congress has alleged that the Centre scrapped a deal for 126 Rafale jets negotiated by the previous UPA government and entered an expensive new contract just to help Anil Ambani’s defence company bag an offset partnership with the jet manufacturer Dassault. The court said, “We don’t find any substantial element to show that there is any commercial favouritism to any private entity.” Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had alleged that Dassault chose Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence as an offset partner despite its inexperience in the field, just to bag the Indian order. He also accused Dassault chief Eric Trappier of lying about it. Both the government and the French aeronautics major have denied the allegation. The offset clause means that in exchange for the contract, Dassault has to invest half the value of the deal — about Rs. 30,000 crore — in Indian firms. Reliance Defence was chosen as one of those “offset” partners and is to manufacture plane parts – though not for the 36 jets ordered by India.The Congress has demanded that the pricing details of the planes be made public – a demand the government rejected citing a secrecy clause in the deal. During the last hearing on November 14, the government had defended the secrecy clause, claiming if revealed, it could compromise national security and even the parliament has not been informed about it. The pricing details, however, were submitted to the court in a sealed cover. The government also filed a 14-page document titled “Details of the steps in the decision-making process leading to the award of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft order” as the petitioners had demanded an investigation into the procedure followed as well. At the court’s request, two senior Air Force officers also appeared in court to answer the judges’ question about the jets. They told the court that no new aircraft has been inducted into the Air Force since 1985. The petitions were filed initially by two lawyers, Manohar Lal Sharma and Vineet Dhanda. Later, Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Sanjay Singh filed one. Former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan also filed a joint petition in the top court.
