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I fly MIGs and will continue to do so: Tipnis

The Indian Air Force will acquire advanced Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft and the first batch of upgraded MIG-21 'BIS' fighter jets next year, Air Chief A Y Tipnis said Tuesday.

The delivery programme of advanced Sukhoi-30s, which will give the IAF "upfront air superiority and defence capabilities," is now back on rails after initial hitches, Tipnis told a select group of newspersons in New Delhi.

He said the country was also close to acquiring British Aerospace's 'Hawk' Advanced Jet Trainer and was considering the possibility of inducting Israeli-made 'Phalcon' Airborne Early Warning Systems.

"The flight trials of prototypes of the upgraded MIG-21 'BIS' with better navigation, armament, radar and head-up display, have been completed and armament trials are currently underway in Russia...we expect the first batch of these planes to roll out of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited assembly lines in Nashik by next year," he said.

Admitting that the MIG-21 upgradation programme was behind schedule by two years, the air chief attributed the delay to difficulties in integration of various systems being acquired from different countries like France and Israel.

Tipnis asserted that the IAF's mainstay, the MIG-21 fleet, was "fully airworthy" and would be in service till the end of the decade.

Tipnis took strong exception to the labelling of MIG-21s as "flying coffins" by the media and said these fighter jets were flying half of the country's fighter flying hours.

"I fly it and we will continue to do so...the pilots flying these planes are like my sons," a visibly moved Tipnis said while referring to media reports that these aircraft had outlived their operational life.

Warning that such media reports have an adverse affect on the families of the pilots, the air chief said IAF's flight safety and maintenance records were second to none.

On the flight safety recommendations by the A P J Abdul Kalam Committee, he said 56 of the 84 suggestions of the committee have been implemented and the rest were being taken note of.

Tipnis said IAF was taking additional measures to reduce accidents by early induction of AJTs and use of sophisticated simulators to train pilots.

As compared to accident rate in excess of 40 aircraft per year in the 1970s, the figure has come down to less than 40 in 1980s and below 30 in late 1990s, he said.

PTI

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