Indian Aircraft Industry
Author | : | Jasjit Singh |
Year of Publication | : | 2011 |
Publisher | : | KW Publishers Pvt Ltd |
ISBN - 13 | : | 9789380502519 |
Edition | : | First |
Language | : | English |
Binding | : | Hardcover |
Subject | : | Aviation |
About the Book :
Aviation came to India quite early, in fact a century ago,
and an aircraft factory, Hindustan Aircraft Ltd., had been set up 70 years ago
in Bangalore. But India, from its 25 percent share of global manufacturing in
1750, had been deindustrialised in the previous two centuries and its
technological and economic capacity had been emasculated by the Raj. Hence, it
had no industry, leave alone defence industry, to talk of at the time of independence.
But by 1948, the first Indian design of a primary trainer, the HT-2, was
started and soon, the licensed production of the first jet fighter, the
Vampire, commenced at HAL.
During the 15 years before the Sino-Indian War in 1962, HAL moved ahead rapidly,
designing a number of light aircraft. It began the design of the jet trainer
Kiran, and manufactured the famous Gnat fighter which acquired the reputation
of “Sabre Killer” in the 1965 War with Pakistan. Above all, it started an
ambitious project in 1956 to manufacture a multi-role combat aircraft, the
HF-24 Marut, which turned out to be an outstanding design. Notwithstanding our
inability to get an adequately powerful engine for it, three squadrons equipped
with the aircraft served the country well in the 1971 War on the Western front.
During the Nehru era, the aircraft industry rested on three strands of
self-reliance: indigenous design and development, licensed manufacture, and
outright import in some cases. Unfortunately, after the 1962 War, the need for
expansion of the IAF led to enormous demands of modern aircraft of all types,
and the country’s defence needs were mostly met by licensed production of
hundreds of fighter and transport aircraft and helicopters. We seemed to have
become complacent (or incapable of professional thinking). In the process, the
self-reliance model of three strands shrank to just two strands, with
indigenous design and development, which is the most crucial element in
creating autonomy in aircraft and other industrial enterprises, suffering a
serious setback amounting to neglect for more than three decades.
This has been changing during the past decade and new opportunities are opening
up with a sustained high economic growth on one side and opening up of new
sources of technology and arms on the other. But major institutional and
structural reforms would be required to take advantage of the new
opportunities. This volume by the country’s leading defence expert, points out
to the nature of these reforms after examining the Russian and Chinese
experiences. This book is a must for military and industry professionals,
students of defence, those interested in aviation and the general reader.
About Author :
Jasjit Singh: Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, AVSM, VrC, VM (retd), awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2006 for a life-time contribution to national defence and security as the country leading strategic expert, is currently the Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies in New Delhi. He earlier headed the country premier think-tank, the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) for 14 years till 2001. He has authored and edited a large number of books. He is the author and editor-contributor, among others, of Air Power in Modern Warfare (1985); Nuclear India (1998); India Defence Spending (2001); The ICON: Biography of Marshal of the IAF Arjan Singh DFC (2007); Defence from the Skies (2007); Indian Aircraft Industry (2011);; and India National Security (2012). He is a Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, Fellow of Aeronautical Society of India, and member of Editorial Boards of many journals, and has lectured in universities, defence and war colleges in India and abroad, and participated in numerous international conferences abroad. He is on the governing council of ICWA, ICSSR, etc. and Adjunct Professor at Manipal University.