How Bharat has increased its strength on the LOC and the LAC during the previous decade for a ‘ShaktiShali’ Amrit Kaal

India, a country that is widely known as a third world nation to the west, a perpetrator of religious violence to its enemies and the homeland to various religious and cultural identities has made a noteworthy growth in the past decade. India has established itself as one of the fastest growing economies in the world carrying the weight of world’s largest population. The commendable growth of the country has earned Indians a respectable position on the world map. Since 2014, under the BJP Government and under the power of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has witnessed holistic development with growing job opportunities, schemes and policies to nourish the agriculture industry of the country and has enhanced defense system with remarkable capabilities to tackle the hostile environment around the borders. Among the various developmental highlights of the Modi government, let’s discuss a comprehensive picture of the increased Air power of India since 2014.

India shares borders with seven countries and among them China and Pakistan have been hostile and bitter to India for decades now. Prime Minister Modi’s efforts towards a self-sufficient, strong and striding defense system has boosted India’s position in Asia aiming to threaten the enemy nations from disturbing India’s peace. India’s air power has seen significant growth over the decade with a crucial role in the nation’s defense and security strategy. Since 2014, India has undertaken ambitious initiatives to bring in modern technology in its air force, bolster its defense powers and strengthening its position in Asia. Since its inception the Indian Air Force (IAF), today the IAF has come a long way. In its early years, IAF heavily relied on European nations like the UK and The Soviet for aircrafts. India’s aviation power had a struggling journey during the Indo-Pak and several other conflicts with the neighboring nations. The challenges in the Indian defense system in the past required a modern approach. Limited resources, outdated equipment, and technological gaps contributed as major impediments to efficacy. Additionally, the geopolitical strategy and regional tensions demanded a sturdy air force capable of protecting India’s borders and projecting power when necessary. The dispute with Pakistan and the obligation to maintain a credible deterrent against potential adversaries further made modernization the need of the hour.

In today’s date and time, the IAF ranks as the fourth largest air force across the globe stocked with a diverse fleet of aircrafts with extreme potential. Standing strong with a range of fighter jets, aircrafts and helicopters with advanced technology, the Indian Air Force include some state-of-the-art fighters such as the Sukhoi Su 30MKI and Dassault Rafale. Some of the evidences of India’s boosted air power is the Modi government’s emphasis on Indigenous air craft production. To further work on this endeavor, Aeronautical Development Agency developed the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. Since 2014, India has successfully inducted several Tejas fighter aircraft into its air force. With the LCA Tejas Mark 1A, an upgraded variant with improved avionics and capabilities, f India’s self-reliance in the aerospace sector becomes commendable. Besides acquiring new aircrafts, India has initiated steps to modernize the already existing fleet. For instance, the Mirage-2000, MiG-29, and Jaguar fleets have undergone upgrades, extending their operational lifespan and effectiveness.

Since 2014, India has built multifaceted bilateral relations with powerful nations like Israel, Russia, France, Japan, United States and gulf countries that have further led to active support from these nations in the IT and defense sector. In the year 2016, India signed a deal with France to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets, which enhance the Indian Air Force’s combat capabilities significantly. The induction of Rafale jets has expanded India’s advanced avionics and weapons systems. After the Modi government, the IAF also secured the AH-64E Apache Attack helicopters from the United States. These helicopters acquire proficiency in air-to-ground and anti-tank advancements. In 2018, Russia and India signed a deal to acquire the S-400 Triumph air defense system which would prepare India against aerial dangers with long-range air defense capabilities. With the establishment of Defense Space Agency (2019), the Modi government ensured to protect the space assets of India and help military operations in the process. According to a recent news article from Indian Express, Defense minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated Nechipu Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh under the Border Roads Organization project (BRO). With the motive to bolster national security by improving connectivity and accessibility in remote but significant areas along the LAC, BRO projects were initiated by the defense ministry in the north-eastern region and eastern Ladakh. India’s efforts to safeguard the country’s territorial integrity strategically in record time has strengthened India’s position in the daunting terrains of the border areas.

India has been aware of the threat that the border nations pose and has ensured optimal use of air power by focusing on the training of the IAF personnel. The IAF has also concentrated on the modernization of training infrastructure by bring in new simulators and training facilities. As a result, the pilot skills and the readiness of the IAF personnel have improved notably. The IAF placed equal emphasis on development and deployment with the induction of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) including surveillance drones. Giving timely insights about the armed forces, indigenously developed surveillance drones like Rustom and Heron TP have been proved instrumental. The access to advanced technologies assured domestic security as well as peace and stability in the South Asia region. India has taken big steps like joint military exercises, modernizing defense infrastructure and investing in defense diplomacy to assert itself as a potential superpower.

Bringing Bharat to a powerful position where Bharat’s capable of making itself heard and seen has been a daunting task. Modi government’s strategies have ensured to nurture the balance of power delicately and to keep up with the continuously advancing technologies. The Indian government’s strong ministerial decisions resulted in a decade long bright future for Bhar. India’at during the Amrit Kaal evolving air power will ensure protection of national interests, weeding out political threats and will play a vital role in establishing regional stability.