The Indian Air Force (IAF) lost yet another aircraft as a MiG-21 crashed during a routine training session near India’s Gwalior Air Force Base in Madhya Pradesh. This marks the third MiG-21 of the IAF that has crashed in the last six months alone

An Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21 crashed near the Gwalior Air Force Base, in India’s Madhya Pradesh region on Wednesday. Indian media reports revealed that the aircraft crashed during a routine training mission, and both the pilots aboard the MiG, a group captain and a squadron leader, ejected safely before the crash.

12th IAF Crash in 2019

Speaking to the Press Trust of India, Rudolf Alvares, Bhind Superintendent of Police said, “The two pilots ejected safely, according to the information passed to us from the village head from the spot, some 60 km from the district headquarters.”

A report by Indian media outlet NDTV reveals that this is the 12th IAF crash this year alone, and the Indian Air Force authorities have ordered an inquiry into the crash in order to determine the cause of the accident.

The MiG-21 was first acquired by the IAF during the 1960s, shortly after the Sino-Indian War, and in 2006, it was upgraded to the MiG-21 Bison version.

Earlier in March, a MiG-21 of the IAF had crashed in Indian Rajasthan’s Bikaner area, and the pilot had managed to successfully eject the aircraft before the crash. Indian media reports revealed that the crash had occurred during a routine mission in the afternoon when the engine began experiencing technical issues.

It is interesting to note that the fighter aircraft flown by the captured Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, shot down by the Pakistan Air Force in the aerial dogfight that ensued on 27th February, was also part of the MiG-21 Bison fleet that is well past its retirement age, and has been maintained by the Indian Air Force with service life extensions, and recurrent upgrades.

MiG-21: Widow Maker

The MiG-21 is a Soviet-era single-engine multirole fighter attack airforce, and it forms the foundation of the fleet maintained by the Indian Air Force. The MiG-21 was first acquired by the IAF during the 1960s, shortly after the Sino-Indian War, and in 2006, it was upgraded to the MiG-21 Bison version.

An Indian media report reveals that the MiG-21 is the most accident-prone fighter aircraft in IAF’s possession, and around 14 MiG-21s have crashed during the period 2010 to 2013 alone. Its reputation for experiencing drastic technical issues and outdated systems has earned it the titles of “widow maker” or the “flying coffin”.

Read more: Indian Air Force lost 27 aircraft in crashes since 2016

The report by News18 stated, “Nearly an average of 12 accidents per year took place between 1971 and 2012. These aircrafts were to retire by mid-1980s but were upgraded to Bison standard, a modern fighter jet with a powerful multi-mode radar, better avionics and communications systems.”

Experts reveal that as an aircraft continues to age and is discarded by the technological innovators of the aircraft industry, old systems and their components begin to fail drastically. However, system components tend to have a longer life potential that the life of a certified fighter aircraft itself, therefore, authorities undertake service life extension programmes to reap maximum advantage from the aircraft.

The report sheds light on IAF aircraft incidents, stating, “Around 14 MiG-21s have crashed between 2010 and 2013. During 2015-2018 there were a total of 24 IAF aircraft accidents leading to the death toll of 39.”

Chennai, September 25

Two days after the Army Chief said terror camps in Pakistan were being reactivated, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said Indian security forces were fully prepared to meet the situation.

He was responding to a query on Army Chief General Bipin Rawat’s statement on reactivation of terror camps in Balakot in neighbouring Pakistan.

“Don’t worry, our security forces are fully prepared,” he told reporters here.

Rawat had on Monday said, “Pakistan has reactivated the Balakot terror camp very recently and about 500 infiltrators were waiting to sneak into India.”

Early this year, tensions flared up between India and Pakistan after a suicide bomber of Pakistan-based JeM killed 40 CRPF personnel in Pulwama district.

Responding to another query about Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh seeking the Home Ministry’s help on incidents of Pakistan-origin drones dropping consignments of arms and ammunition, the Defence Minister said as far as the country’s security was concerned, the armed forces have the capability to defeat any such challenges.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Capt Amarinder said, “Recent incidents of Pakistan-origin drones dropping consignments of arms and ammunitions is a new and serious dimension on Pakistan’s sinister designs in aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370. Request @AmitShah ji to ensure that this drone problem is handled at the earliest.”

Meanwhile, the Defence Minister today formally commissioned the Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel “Varaha” at the Chennai Port Trust here.

After unveiling a plaque commemorating the commissioning ceremony, he said the state-of-the-art ship would be a force multiplier for the Indian Coast Guard, pointing out it has capabilities to operate twin engine ALH Helicopters developed indigenously by HAL.

Singh, who arrived here on Tuesday on a two-day visit, participated in the Investiture Ceremony of the Coast Guard.

“It is indeed reassuring to witness the growing strength of the Indian Coast Guard, the ‘Sentinals of our seas’ and capabilities of Larsen and Toubro Shipbuilding Ltd, one of the strong supporting pillars for production and maintenance of surface assets of our maritime forces,” he said.

He said the name “Varaha” from the puranas reminds one of the principles of sacrifice and rescue at sea, saving mother Earth, restoring harmony and strength. — PTI

‘Don’t repeat mistakes of 1965, 1971’ 

Jaipur: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said Pakistan should refrain from 1965 and 1971 mistakes of war against India. “I like to suggest Pakistan that it should not repeat its mistake of 1965 and 1971 wars. In the 1971 war, Pakistan was broken into two and Bangladesh was formed,” he warned while delivering a lecture on the 103rd birth anniversary of Pt Deendayal Upadhyay at Dhankya near here. Singh said Upadhyay had given a new direction to Indian politics and coordination.

Tribune News Service
Doda, September 23

A capacity building tour was today flagged off by Brig NJ Singh, Commander, Sector 4 of the Army, to Chandigarh, Amritsar and other parts of north India.

A total of 40 students (20 boys and 20 girls) were a part of the tour.

The tour was organised by the Army’s Sector 4 under Operation Sadbhavana. Deputy Commissioner, Doda, Diofode Sagar Dattatray, Doda SSP Mumtaz and officials of the district administration and police were also present on the occasion.

During the tour, the students will visit various historical places, including the Golden temple in Amritsar, Rock Garden in Chandigarh and other areas. They will also meet GOC-in-C, Western Command, in Chandigarh.

Interacting with students, Brig NJ Singh asked them to take the benefit of the tour and learn in whatever way they can. He assured them of full support from the Army and said with this tour, they would get to know the diversity of the country.

Talking to the media, he said after many years, such a tour had been organised in which students of remote areas had been selected. Most of these students haven’t gone beyond Jammu and they have got their first opportunity to tour outside the state with the help of the Army

Move will turn OFB into public sector corporate entity and help increase exports

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 21

The Ministry of Defence intends to allow foreign and Indian Industry to tie up with Ordnance factories to produce military equipment.

The proposed transformation is to turn the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) into a public sector corporate entity and help increase export market, self-reliance and add latest technology and innovation.

The OFB is a subordinate or attached office of the Department of Defence Production. It has 41 Ordnance factories, nine training institutes, three regional marketing centres, and four Regional Controllers of Safety working under it. 

The principal products of OFB include tanks and armoured vehicles, artillery guns, small arms and weapons.

Corporatised Ordnance factories may not require finances from the government to fund modernisation and R&D. Ordnance factohave been facing the performance issues for a long time, officials said. The high cost of OFB products is due to high overhead charges and there’s minimal innovation and technology development.

The subject of restructuring of OFB has been examined by various committees. One of them even suggested that the OFB needs to have integrated responsibility for all functions and requires new mode of thinking and decision-making. This corporation will not mean privatisation but will bring about functional autonomy and make them accountable.

Our Correspondent

Gurugram, August 7

Tension gripped Pahari village near Pataudi today after a statue of a martyred Army man installed in a local temple was damaged.

Some other idols were also damaged in the temple by unidentified persons. The villagers staged a protest but were pacified by the police.

Early morning today, villagers found that the statue of Anil Kumar (martyred in 2007) and idol of Radha-Krishna installed in the local temple were damaged.

They called the police and on the complaint of Sarpanch Pradeep Kumar, an FIR was registered against unidentified persons under Section 295 (defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) of IPC at Pataudi police station. When the villagers staged a protest, a police team headed by Rajesh Kumar, DCP (Manesar), and Rajesh Prajapati, SDM, Pataudi, went there and pacified them

Go to Source
Author:

Hits: 2

More and more service officers are coming from middle and lower-middle-class backgrounds and have legitimate career aspirations. Most officers retire in early-to-mid-fifties and have family responsibilities. The organisational pyramid in the armed forces is quite steep and many bright and deserving officers miss out on board proceedings for higher promotions.

Bhartendu Kumar Singh
Indian Defence Accounts Service

For long, we have been fed with narratives that the armed forces are suffering from a high level of attrition, where more officers are calling quits. However, recent statistics show that the number of officers who left the defence services voluntarily in the last three years is minuscule and nearly constant: 677 in 2016; 725 in 2017; and 698 in 2018. What is worrying is the continued phobia and artificial concern about the ‘ghost of attrition’ and non-recognition of its positive and dynamic relationship with India’s emerging, vibrant and mature economy.

Established narratives on attrition consider it a bad element for the individual and collective morale of the armed forces. Attrition is often propagated as a major manpower concern for the armed forces. Such narratives are, however, bereft of facts, figures and actual justifications and do not confirm to contemporary trends in normative economics. Also, the impact of the so-called attrition has not been empirically established on issues such as the operational preparedness of the armed forces.

On the other hand, modern managerial principles treat attrition as a part and parcel of the organisational culture. Attrition brings dynamism, agility and mobility to individuals. Organisations are challenged to create an attractive work culture in response. From this perspective, attrition is good since it allows the servicemen and armed forces to retain dynamism and make the best of opportunities. There are credible reasons why established perspectives on attrition amongst officers are not true. 

First, the armed forces are supposed to be a reflection of larger social structure. However, the social profile of the service officers as well as the armed forces has changed in the last few decades. Unlike the old generation military elites who eschewed integration with the civil society even after retirement, the new generation of officers is uncomfortable with the garrison mindset and favours greater integration with civil society. They also detest some archival practices in services, like the overbearing and intrusive influence of the wives’ welfare associations. Some of them have working spouses who find it very difficult to adjust with frequent transfers.

Second, as Morris Janowitz rightly predicted, there has been an increasing narrowing of skill differentiation between military and civil elites; an outgrowth of increasing concentration of technical specialists in the military. Service officers who perform such technical tasks have direct civilian equivalents: engineers, signal experts, doctors, logistics experts etc. Technological developments in the last few decades have led to the ‘civilianisation’ of the military profession due to the blurring of differences with the civil side. The organisational culture that characterises civil jobs has, therefore, permeated the military side. Concurrently, military professionals perceive ‘careerism’ in the same fashion as their civilian counterparts. 

Third, more and more service officers are coming from middle and lower-middle class backgrounds and have legitimate career aspirations. Most officers retire in their early-to-mid-fifties and have family responsibilities. The organisational pyramid in the armed forces is quite steep and many bright and deserving officers miss out on board proceedings for higher promotions. The absence of vertical movement avenues goads them to move laterally, as and when opportunity knocks their doors.

Fourth, attrition is a given fact in developed economies like the US and UK. The military career is transitional for young men after graduation as they settle down in different professions after putting in variable years of military service. Military experience is valued by corporates and duly rewarded. Post 1991, the private sector in India has also become vibrant, mature and, in some cases, fatally attractive. Jobs have grown in public and corporate sectors, apart from entrepreneurship opportunities. Service officers are qualified and experienced enough to handle these jobs. This makes transition through attrition possible.

Critics of attrition forget that it is a social investment where some of the best trained, physically fit and highly disciplined professionals transit to civil society. As Samuel S Huntington wrote, “military function requires high order of expertise. No individual, whatever his inherent intellectual ability and quality of character and leadership, could perform these functions efficiently without considerable training and experience.”

Regrettably, we recognise their contributions only during wars or crisis situations with neighbours and mostly remain insensitive to their continuous training and exposure to security-building exercises. We do have examples of many prominent figures in public life, strategic writings, defence journalism and commercial flying who left the armed forces midway and have done quite well in alternative careers. Attrition is, therefore, a rational choice by officers and attempted only when the scope for upward mobility or betterment in personal life is assured. The society also benefits in process.

It emerges, therefore, that attrition affects the armed forces like other organisations in the public and private sectors and we need not overtly worry about it since the proportions have not reached the alarming level and create stress for manpower planning in services. Instead of perceiving armed forces officers as mere specialists in ‘management of violence’ and suitable only for security-related jobs, we should develop the right perceptions regarding them as specialists in many other segments.

Also, despite public policy efforts like pre-retirement professional education and training, reservation and weightage in jobs etc, institutional mechanisms for facilitating transition of retiring officers into civil society have not moved beyond the public sector. The private sector is still insensitive and accords little credence to incoming military experience.

Finally, our policy discourse needs to discuss ways and means for making attrition more attractive for short-service officers who need a second career more than anyone else and are faced with an uncertain job market when they leave the services in their mid-thirties.

It is time for a paradigm change in perceptions about attrition that is in response to socio-economic changes, re-defined civil-military relations, and above all, legitimate aspirations of service officers for themselves and their families. We need more policy support to make it a win-win situation for officers and society at large.

(Views are personal)