Government admits only 55% of fighter aircraft fleet operational owing to technical issues

NEW DELHI: In a rare, official admission of the dismal state of the combat aircraft fleet, the government has admitted that at any given point of time, just over half of the planes in the air force inventory are in a state to fly, with a large number of platforms grounded due to technical issues.

While there have been indications in the past by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar as well as air force officials that the aircraft availability rate – the percentage of assets prepared to fly at any given day - is abnormally low, the defence ministry has now admitted to a parliamentary panel that this stands at only 55 per cent.

Follow @ETDefence Twitter handle for comprehensive coverage on other buzzing Defence stories

“During the period from January to December 2014, the average aircraft availability was approximately 55 percent,” the Defence Ministry has said in a note to the Parliamentary standing committee on defence.

This means that on any day, just over 350 of the approximately 700 combat aircraft in the air force’s inventory are in a state to fly and undertake operations. Worryingly, the government has also admitted that almost 20 percent of the air force fleet is grounded throughout the year due to a lack of spares.

“Between 15-20 percent of the aircraft fleet were Aircraft on Ground (AOG) due to shortage of spares,” the ministry has stated. Officials say that the majority of aircraft on ground are older, Russian origin aircraft including the ageing MiG 27 and MiG 21 fleet.

The modern Su 30 MKI fleet, which will eventually reach 272 aircraft, is also suffering from an availability of just around 50 percent, with Parrikar determined to push the number up. India and Russia are also set to sign a pact for quick delivery of spare parts for the fleet, as reported by ET.

Defence Minister Parrikar has told ET in the past that his aim is to increase this availability rate to 65 per cent and above so that the available resources of the air force are used optimally. The Su 30 MKI fleet is the cutting edge of the airforce and would be it largest in terms of numbers of a modern fighter jet.