Primacy of Air Power in Conduct of Warfare
07 Oct, 2001 · 597
Wg Cdr NK Pant traces the growth of air power in warfare and urges for modernization of the Indian Air Force
The role of air power will be crucial in the coming weeks if the
US and its allies start pounding Taliban targets and Osama bin Laden’s hideouts in
Afghanistan by hitting them with the latest cave buster bombs. To achieve victory in today’s war, air power provides the real cutting edge. Air power, since its advent in the early twentieth century, has made it possible to strike at the political, economic and military nerve centres of the adversary. The combat aircraft’s speed, reach, surprise, firepower and flexibility have made it a decisive weapon in the conduct of warfare.
India ’s security calls for a modern and high tech Air Force to function in an integrated manner with the other two services. In the past, the nation’s air arm, especially its transport wing, played a vital role in helping the army in
Jammu and Kashmir during the first Indo-Pak conflict in 1947-48. In the Sino-Indian conflict of 1962, the IAF transport and helicopter fleet provided communication and logistic support to the army in remote areas of Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. When
Pakistan attacked
India in 1965, the IAF went into action providing close air support to ground troops, besides carrying out strategic bombing deep within
Pakistan , and performing reconnaissance and air defence tasks.
Bangladesh liberation war were carefully planned and the IAF retained the initiative throughout the campaign. While, in the eastern sector, Indian airmen gained complete air superiority within 48 hours, both the air forces remained on the defensive in the western sector after the first few days of air operations against counter air targets like fighter air bases and radar stations. The Kargil air operations of 1999, where the IAF was deployed to attack enemy held positions on mountain tops, have proved the relevance of air power in today’s battlefield. Without the use of air power, it would have taken much longer to evict the Pakistani intruders with much higher casualties.
India ’s national interests to maintain a technological edge in the sphere of air delivery platforms and weaponry. Suitable doctrines, organization, command and control structure will have to be in place to gain maximum advantage from air and aerospace power against the nuclear backdrop, especially when ominous war clouds are gathering in our neighbourhood.
Aircraft was first used in combat during the First World War (1914-18); they were mainly used to support the army and flew reconnaissance, artillery observation and tactical close support missions. The experience gained during this war led the major powers to critically examine and conceptualise the role that air power could play in future. The Second World War saw air power emerging as the dominant force in three-dimensional warfare. The Battle of Britain, the Bomber offensive against Germany and Japan, the air war over the Atlantic against German U-boats, the German air-borne invasion of Crete, the employment of air power in the Western Desert to support ground forces during the North African campaign and the air-borne and seaborne invasion of Europe in 1944 ending with the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 can be cited as important landmarks in the evolution of air power.
The Arab-Israeli War of 1973 was the first conflict in modern war in which new technology weapons like guided missiles, electronic warfare systems and space based satellite communication and surveillance technology was used extensively. The Gulf War of 1990-91 conclusively demonstrated the impact of air power on the outcome of war—total victory with minimum losses.
The air operations in the 1971
Ever since the Wright brothers flew for a few moments in their crude flying machine in 1903, American air power has grown to formidable proportions. It has revolutionized the conduct of warfare. In this context, the Indian Air Force, the fourth largest air force, is suffering from obsolescence. Its combat and transport fleet needs replacement with new aircraft. As a stopgap arrangement, the fighter aircraft acquired in the seventies and eighties need to be upgraded. Its present MiG-21 upgrade program is running behind schedule by four to five years. Similarly, vital indigenous projects like LCA and ALH have witnessed slippages. The capital intensive IAF also needs AWACS and mid-air refuelling aircraft. Moreover, the increasing number of crashes calls for special attention to flight safety. The government needs to act fast on the IAF’s request on acquisition of the advanced jet trainer (AJT) and flight simulators for flying training.
It would be in
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