‘Depleted squadron anxiety is there, but we are ensuring combat capabilites does not falter’: Air Marshal Dixit

NEW DELHI: Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC), on Friday said that the Indian Air Force has undertaken several measures and is utilising the available fighter aircraft fleet in the best possible way to ensure that its combat capabilities do not take a hit amid the concerns over squadron depletion.

At the ANI’s National Security Summit, when asked about the “anxiety” the public is having over the squadron depletion, Air Marshal Dixit said,

“Depleted squadron anxiety is there with us also. We are trying to utilise the resources in the best possible manner. We have more simulators. We are trying to reserve the flying hours. We are trying to get a more number of people. We have also increased the sortie generation rate also. It means each aircraft will be used for six sorties in one day. These kinds of things we are doing so that the amount of air effort required for a medium-duration war, we should be able to cater to.”

“We are trying to work and ensure that combat capabilities do not falter in any way,” he added.

When asked if the industry sector is seeing a situation where they can install their own defence installations and if the government is working in that direction, Dixit said, “In air defence, there is an MHA directive that for small drones, which are originating within the country, which are looking to create nuisance or maybe damage theater or stadium, for that they can install. But for something coming across the border, for that we are responsible.”

He said that in future warfare, the small systems won’t be able to decide the course of wars. “But I think people will have to use anti-drone systems, which are against drones which create a nuisance.”

Speaking on the fifth-generation fighter jet program, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said, “We have been tinkering with the fifth-generation program for a very long time… Your question relates to the gap between now and the delivery of the fifth-generation capability. There is a gap there. There will be an eight, nine, or ten-year gap. We are thinking of filling that gap.”

In a significant push towards enhancing India’s indigenous defence capabilities and fostering a robust domestic aerospace industrial ecosystem, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in May this year, approved the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Programme Execution Model. The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) is set to execute the programme through Industry partnership. (ANI)