Bengaluru: Four years after the first squadron of Tejas was formed, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will operationalise the second one with the desi bird today.
To be based out of Air Force Station (AFS) Sulur, the No 18 Squadron Flying Bullets will see the first few Tejas fighters formally joining them in the presence of Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on Wednesday.
Resurrected in April this year at AFS Sulur, the No 18 Squadron that flew the MiG27, was number plated in 2016. (In IAF parlance, a squadron getting number-plated means it is frozen without any assets. It can be resurrected later with new assets or equipment)
This will be the first major event for the IAF since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
As a testimony to IAF’s support and confidence in the indigenous fighter and also to boost the morale of the young squadron, the CAS might fly the Tejas during the occasion.
He has been a long-standing supporter of the programme and knows the nuances of Tejas right from its early years. Ever since taking over as the CAS, he has been vocal about IAF’s support for all indigenous programmes.
What IAF wants
In an interaction with Onmanorama, Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said that time has come for Indian industries to rally around the indigenous programmes wholeheartedly.
He also said that the event at AFS Sulur is a pointer that IAF is getting back to business, despite several uncertainties prevailing owing to the pandemic.
“We are committed to the Tejas programme and all its variants. As I have reiterated to you earlier, the induction of the second squadron is sure to boost the operational utilisation of Tejas. To achieve our goals and to see the complete operational utility of Tejas, we will need these fighters in large numbers. And, this can be achieved only if the public and private industries take the lead,” Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said.
He said IAF has huge confidence in indigenous programmes and the industries will have to stick to the timelines ensuring that the fleet stays in a healthy condition.
“I am a firm believer in seeing what is being delivered rather than only talking about what can be done. The story of Tejas is undoubtedly an inspiring one in our efforts to scale self-reliance in defence. Now it is the turn for the public and private industries to celebrate this story and spread its essence to more areas. It also essentially means to deliver the planes at a faster rate so that we are not kept waiting,” the IAF Chief added.
Modern Base
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Ever since the first squadron of Tejas (Flying Daggers) moved in 2018, AFS Sulur has become one of the top bases of IAF.
“AFS Sulur is today one of the most technically well-equipped air bases in the country. It is a MAFI-compliant (Modernisation of Airfield Infrastructure) airbase equipped with Category-II ILS (Instrument Landing System) and is home for many squadrons,” says a senior official of IAF.
Flying Bullets (No 18) will be the fifth squadron to make its home at AFS Sulur.
The Sarangs (151 HU), Mi-17 V5 Knights (109 HU), AN-32 (33 Sqn) Soaring Storks and Tejas (45 Sqn) Flying Daggers are other residents of this historic base.
The base also houses a Radio and Maintenance Unit, a Transportable Radar Unit and a Garud commando unit.
“No other airbases in India operate this mix of squadrons. The requirements of flying and the management of aircrew is so much vast at this base. The fighters operate in a very tightly-controlled environment, the transporters are very self-sufficient and the helicopters are very versatile. To maintain all the three at one base is an operational challenge,” says an official.
During a visit to the AFS Sulur in 2018 Onmanorama had witnessed the massive infrastructure build-up at the base with the first Tejas squadron moving in.
“Since 2018 there have been lots of additions to the base, be it the hangar space, accommodation facilities among others. The in-house second-line servicing facility too is in place so that IAF need not depend on the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). We could undertake the servicing of our aircraft at the base itself be it after 250 hours or annually,” says the official.
Impact Plans
The thought process in IAF too seems to be taking a tectonic shift now regarding its over-dependence on Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for aircraft spares, overhaul and service.
“Given the record we have had with the HAL, it was important for us to put in a smart and impact plan to take care of our assets rather than waiting for someone to do our job. For an air warrior, the availability of assets as and when needed for a safe and successful mission matters,” he adds.
Meanwhile, efforts are also in place to streamline the flow of spares from HAL so that the operational need of the fighter fleet is not affected.
“As more fighters join, spare support becomes a crucial aspect. There will be a quantum jump in the flight activities and our efforts are to attain self-sufficiency in spare parts as well,” the official added.
Today, AFS Sulur has a full-fledged Technical Training School for officers, airmen as well for the newly-posted aircrew. IAF says a techno-logistics lab and servicing at the base will be a huge advantage for its operations.
“Soon a Tejas Full Mission Simulator will be in place at the base which will further aid the new aircrew. Tejas is a brilliant machine and we have seen all the pilots embracing its fine flying qualities. To keep the morale high, we need to have continuous training activities and a great amount of planning goes into this,” says another official.
He cited the recent examples of Tejas fighters undertaking several detachments without much external support.
“Operational utilisation is the key. During Gagan Shakthi, we had eight Tejas fighters available all the time. With two squadrons in place, we will have to ensure that the planes are available for the pilots. It’s a challenge, but we have a plan in place,” he added.
Experienced Team
The Flying Bullets will be commanded by Group Captain Manish Tolani, who was commissioned into the fighter stream of IAF in 2001.
He was earlier the Flight Commander of Flying Daggers and is a Cat-A Qualified Instructor and an Instrument Rating Instructor\Examiner with vast experience on MiG 29, MiG 21, Hawk MK 132A and now Tejas.
He will be assisted by Group Captain Dinesh Dhankhar as the Flight Commander of Flying Bullets.
Interestingly, IAF also positioned Gp Capt Madhav Rangachari as the COO for AFS Sulur. Gp Capt Rangachari is the first CO of Flying Daggers and has close to six years of experience with the Tejas platform.
Sources say that he was the ‘best man available for the best job,’ to guide the young breed of pilots.
Road Ahead
For HAL, Tejas has become virtually become the face-saver for its fortunes with the additional orders of 83 Tejas MK1A orders anticipated soon.
Despite several challenges, the Tejas LCA Division in Bengaluru seems to have finally put in place several measures for the smooth production of the fighters and trainers.
As reported by Onmanorama recently, the flat structure and efficient leadership grooming mechanism put in place by PG Yogindra, ED, LCA Division seem to be giving rich dividends for HAL now.
This is a fact acknowledged by IAF, despite its displeasure over delays in the delivery of Tejas fighters.
“There is energy at HAL’s LCA Division. Whenever our boys got to Bengaluru to ferry aircraft they give us positive feedback about the team spirit there. Good practices churn out good leaders and hope it continues,” says a top IAF official.
Yogindra is retiring this month end after serving HAL for over three decades.
The first Tejas aircraft from the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) series has been already ferried out from Bengaluru ahead of today’s event.
The FOC blocks of fighters are equipped with air-to-air (AAR) refuelling capability, close combat gun, additional drop tanks and beyond visual range (BVR) missile capability. It also has the latest avionics and flight control software suite.
The FOC fighters also have a reduced pilot load and superior maintainability. It also boasts of reduced turn-around time and maintenance man-hours.
HAL now hopes to deliver the entire block of 16 FOC fighters to IAF by September 2022.
“We are currently extending post-delivery and warranty support for the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) fleet. The Tejas MK1A delivery will commence in FY 2023-24 at a rate of 16 aircraft per year,” says an official.
HAL has already delivered 16 Tejas IOC variants till date to IAF. In the next two years, HAL will have to roll out 16 FOC Tejas fighters and eight trainers for the IAF.
The next two fighters Tejas SP-22 and Tejas SP-23 are expected to join Flying Bullets in the next one month.
(The writer is an independent aerospace and defence journalist, who blogs at Tarmak007 and tweets @writetake)
