The recent Tejas crash during the Dubai Air show has been a huge setback for our fledgling aero industry and our efforts at indigenisation in this crucial dimension of modern day warfare. Air shows world over are technology demonstration arenas, where global powers showcase their wares and obviously the best of the systems are put on display. This was by no means a maiden effort by Tejas, as it has already participated in a number of air shows and even joint international exercises. In fact two squadrons have even been deployed for operations. Both the variants of Tejas, Mk 1 and Mk1A were deployed in OP SINDOOR . It was formally named Tejas in 2003 and the name may have been derived from the verse,
“Om Namah Shivaya Gurave Sacchidananda-Murtaye
Nisprapancaya Santaya Niralambaya Tejase”
which means, ‘We respect Shiva who is the supreme guide and who is the embodiment of truth, tranquility and bliss. He is independent, full of peace and is full of spiritual light known as tejas’. Like Shiva, it is capable of inflicting destruction in the adversaries camps at cosmic levels.
It is a 4.5 generation, delta wing, multi role combat aircraft which has been designed by Aeronautical Design Agency and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. A 4.5 generation differs from the fifth generation fighter as it does not have stealth capability. Stealth essentially implies near invisibility to radars. So barring stealth, Tejas is a highly advanced fighter jet and although it has been more than four decades in making, it has come of age now. Recently with MIG 21s having been phased out finally, Tejas will be the main stay of the IAF inventory.
We have the expertise to go to the moon or even Mars, build aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, but when it comes to these lean mean fighting machines, the supersonic jets, we are still struggling. Before I go in to the reasons for this huge void in our military capability, a word about the loss of the precious life of the pilot Wing Commander Namansh Syal, our heart goes out to the bereaved family whose son had made them proud by turning into an ace test pilot, a rare distinction bestowed upon the best in business. While the inquiry committee will no doubt unearth the reasons for this unfortunate crash, one thing is certain, the pilot ensured that he lived upto the Chetwodian motto of ‘his own personal safety being the last priority’ and prevented any collateral damage, but in the process laid down his own life. This also reminds me of the Urdu couplet, “Girte hain Shahsawar hi maidan-e- jang mein, Vo tifl kya gire jo ghutno ke bal chale” meaning it is only the brave and valorous fighters who fall, lesser mortals obviously don’t.
The reasons for any crash is either failure of the systems themselves, sabotage, or may even be a result of electronic or cyber warfare or, sometimes even pilot error. The aircraft is powered by GE Aerospace F404-IN20 engine, which is the heart of the system itself. This dependence creates a huge vulnerability and exposes our failure at not being able to develop this critical component ourselves. Isn’t it ironic that we have successfully developed and deployed cryogenic engines when we were denied these post Pokharan II in 1998 due to sanctions imposed by the US. But Kaveri engine which was designed for combat aircrafts has not been a successful venture and has taken a back seat with our reliance on the GE engines. Technology denial is the most potent weapon which the world powers have been exploiting over the years. We are acutely aware of the Chinese propensity of installing backdoor malware in their systems, providing them with not only intelligence but also the kill switch to render the systems ineffective when most needed remotely. In modern warfare, these acts are not unheard of and will be used extensively, as PM Modi has been stressing, we have no other option but to rely on just one mantra, “atmanirbharta” or self reliance.
While Tejas will continue to surge the skies and blaze a trail of glory in years to come, we as a nation need to develop our own indigenous engines, then and only then, can we keep our adversaries at bay.
No comments:
Post a Comment