Defence Minister A.K. Antony has said that the IAF has lost over 140 pilots in 265 MiG crashes over the past twenty years.
“In the last two decades (since April 1989 and up to Nov 26, 2009), 265 MiG fighter aircraft of the IAF have crashed. A total of 96 service personnel and 44 civilians were killed in these cases,' Antony told the parliament in a written reply. Dubbed 'flying coffins' for their frequent crashes, only 150-160 of the over 450 single-engine MiG-21s with the IAF are still in service.
Each aircraft accident in the Indian Air Force (IAF) is investigated through a Court of Inquiry and remedial measures are undertaken accordingly to check their recurrence in future. Besides, continuous and multifaceted efforts are always underway in the IAF to enhance and upgrade flight safety.
A retired air chief, who did not wish to be named said that because it faces a shortage of fighter squadrons, the IAF cannot afford to phase out the ageing MiG-21s. If it does that, it would diminish its force level drastically. The main problem is the obsolete training system and old technology used by IAF, which results in high rate of crashes said highly-placed IAF officials, who have flown the combat aircraft.
The current deadline for the retirement of MiG-21s is 2011. But this is likely to be pushed forward due to the slow pace of procurement and indigenisation process. The latest crash took place Sep 11 when a MiG-21 went down in Bathinda in Punjab, killing the pilot. The Indian government has issued tenders for acquisition of 126 medium multi-role combat aircrafts but the acquisition has been delayed due to time consuming procedures, which include submitting of bids, technical evaluation of proposals from global military suppliers and field trials.
No comments:
Post a Comment