Yet another Indian military aircraft was lost two weeks ago when a Hindustan Aeronautics naval HJT-16 Kiran intermediate jet trainer crashed during an aerobatic display at the India Aviation 2010 show in Hyderabad, spinning out of control into a residential building and killing its two pilots.
This incident had a high profile, with politicians, military officers, senior industry personnel and every television channel in the country present. The anger was evident as reporters hounded civil aviation minister Praful Patel 30min after the accident.
Sadly, that is not usually the case. Crashes marred the 2007 and 2009 shows, and since January 2009 the Indian armed forces have lost at least 17 aircraft. Accidents have decimated the navy's Sea Harrier and the air force's RSK MiG-21 fleets. In India, given the frequency of these crashes, most elicit only a shrug of the shoulders and chiding of the military establishment by the media, which then moves on to the next headline.
Parliamentarians regularly question this safety record and get a stock answer from the government: measures are in place to cut crash rates, senior officials remind their officers about the importance of safety, there is regular engagement with the manufacturers to overcome technical defects, and accidents happen due to either pilot error or an aircraft defect.
Two issues, however, remain consistently unaddressed - the excruciatingly slow procurement process within the Indian defence ministry, and the delays that plague the development of indigenous aircraft.
Take the replacement of the HAL HPT-32 basic trainer. This fleet was grounded after a July 2009 crash, and officials say that they want to accelerate the purchase of off-the-shelf replacements from foreign vendors and development of an indigenous airframe. In reality, there has been little progress on either fronts even though they have been in the works for years. Meanwhile, basic training is carried out with surplus Kirans, some of which - like the one that crashed in Hyderabad - were produced in the 1970s.
India has a major military market on the back of a multi-billion dollar plan to renew its military aviation fleets. Foreign companies flock to New Delhi to win contracts and sign joint venture deals. Money, apparently, is available. A sense of urgency is not.
Yes, India should thoroughly evaluate all available options, especially given the poor quality of some aircraft it has been saddled with in the past. Some procurements and developments are on the "fast-track". But it is time for decision makers to, well, decide.
Source: Flight International
