COMBAT AVIATION: Flight Path 1968-2018

Kishore Kumar Khera

Combat aircraft, a powerful component of military strength, define the battle space today. In the last five decades, world combat aircraft inventory, after peaking in 1988, gradually declined owing to changes in the geopolitical landscape, altering character of war, evolving technology and emerging alternatives. Today, there are 106 countries in the world that own and operate around 80 types of approximately 18,000 combat aircraft. But, there are only 19 countries that have more than 200 combat aircraft in their inventories. In this book, the available data of the world’s combat aircraft inventory is analysed for the trends and probable reasons for changes in the holdings, before predicting the future trajectory of manned combat aircraft. Additionally, the role of combat aircraft and their interplay with various tenets of Indian air power capability and the likely future is discussed.

Kishore Kumar Khera Group Captain Kishore Kumar Khera VM is an independent analyst. He served as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force for 33 years. He was a pioneer member of the Composite Battle Response and Analysis (COBRA) Group and headed the Operational Planning and Analysis Group at Air Headquarters. He was awarded Vayu Sena Medal in 2005. He was a Research Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, New Delhi from 2017 to 2019.

Contents

List of Figures, Tables and Maps

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Introduction: Flight Plan

Part I Facets of Combat Aviation
1. Start, Taxy and Take Off
2. Scanning Rear Airspace: Historical Perspective of Combat Aviation
3. Mission Plan: Imperatives of Combat Aviation Application

Part II Five Decades Trajectory of Combat Aviation 1968-2018
4. Cruise Climb – Range Descent: Combat Aircraft Inventory (1968-2018)
5. Changing Mission Profile: Technological Innovations in Combat Aviation
6. Trigger Live: Air-Launched Weapons: Expanding Capabilities of Combat Aviation
7. Mission Buddies: Evolving Alternatives and Combat Enablers
8. Top View: Mapping Combat Aircraft Inventory

Part III Dynamics of Combat Aviation
9. Cockpit View: Human-Technology Interface and Training
10. Gravy Check: Economics of Combat Aviation
11. Frontal Scan: Emerging Contours in the Field of Combat Aviation

Part IV Combat Aviation Trajectory in India
12. Close Quarters: Combat Aviation Trajectory in India
13. Wings and Wheels: India’s Internal Factors
14. Dry Cranking Engine: Indian Indigenous Defence Industry
15. Touch Down

Annexures
1. Team Concept
2. Battle Space Transparency Spectrum and Techniques
3. Threat and Capability - Definitions and Dimensions
4. Force Structure Planning Process
5. Geopolitics and Military Expenditure
6. Development of UK Combat Air Strategy
7. Trends in Military Expenditure in Africa
8. India’s Combat Aircraft Fleet