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Delay in buying AJT upsets MPs' panel

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence has passed grave strictures against the ministry for the "very high accident rate of MiG-21 aircraft due to the lack of an advanced jet trainer for fighter pilot training".

In its latest report presented in the Lok Sabha, the committee expressed concern about the delay in acquisition of the AJT.

"The tremendous delay in the acquisition might also be a major factor in the escalation of the cost of the aircraft," the committee noted, adding that it had "resulted in the loss of many precious lives of our pilots and our costly aircraft".

The committee noted that as admitted by the defence ministry, technology has helped reduce the overall accident rate in modern aircraft such as the Mirage.

It observed that one of the major recommendations of the Committee on Fighter Aircraft Accidents headed by Dr A P J Abdul Kalam was the use of simulators for training.

The committee, therefore, recommended that "the most suitable AJT at appropriate cost may be made available to the trainee fighter pilots expeditiously and in a time-bound manner".

It desired that advanced simulators be made available for all types of aircraft being used by the Indian Air Force.

Late last year, even Air Chief Marshal A Y Tipnis had stressed that the MiG-21 aircraft in service were fully airworthy consequent to regular maintenance checks and servicing procedures. A detailed study had been undertaken of the technical defects and the recommendations made were being implemented.

According to the defence ministry, the specific reasons thrown up by the study for the high rate of accidents in the MiG variants were:

1. The MiG-21 accounts for the majority of the IAF's fighters. Consequently, it accounts for the bulk of the flying effort and is more exposed to the risk inherent in flying fighters.
2. The MiG-21's technology is outdated and therefore makes more demands on the pilot as well as the maintenance crew. Modern technology has helped to reduce the accident rate in today's aircraft. The Mirage 2000 is a live example.
3. Quality control on spares has been compromised to an extent with the break-up of the Soviet Union.

"Renewed thrust on acquiring simulators and the AJT is a step towards improving the quality of the man behind the machine," the ministry said.

But the AJT remains a mirage even after two decades of efforts by the ministry to acquire it.

As Squadron Leader (retd) Kamal Chaudhary, former chairman of the standing committee on defence, pointed out, India needs about 80 AJTs. The cost of acquiring them will be more than $2 billion at current international prices. This is why successive Indian governments have not been able to clinch the deal for a long time.

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