AVM Manmohan Bahadur VM (retd)

If there is a prima donna of the armed forces in terms of the glamour quotient, it surely must be the Indian Air Force (IAF). Air power and its flying assets have a seductive appeal in terms of the effect that they bring on to a conflict zone, and the visuals that modern technology brings to all and sundry in their living rooms — possibly, it is for this reason that recruitment advertisements for the army, navy and coast guard also highlight their flying assets, sometimes more than their basic service equipment!

But there are other air power assets and systems that, though unglamorous and not in the forefront of public scrutiny, are vital for the operational effectiveness of the IAF; this piece discusses such vital cogs, some of which are force multipliers in their own right. One ought not to forget the proverbial truth about the war being lost because of the loss of a lowly nail.

Communications: The ability to securely exchange information, both verbal and electronic, is an absolute must in today’s warfare. This has two basic ingredients viz., unimpeded exchange of information and fidelity of the exchange. Imagine an aircraft formation in the final stages of its mission having its radio communication being jammed by the adversary’s electronic warfare action; neither would the leader be able to pass instructions nor would any formation member be able to communicate anything. It is true that radio silence is the norm in such missions but at critical times the ability to talk unimpeded is an imperative that cannot be taken away based on the norm. The same holds good for air to ground and ground to air communications, between the aircrew and air defence controllers.

Electronic data transfer has slowly become more pervasive between aircraft and aerial and ground assets; exchange of radar pictures, target coordinates, target designation, threat areas, operational instructions et al are everyday examples of electronic data transfer. And unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ops are all about remote electronic transfer of data. With security comes the essential requirement of fidelity which has to be ensured to ensure safe mission accomplishment; in these days of hacking, a mala fide input of a command can wreak havoc. Thus, it is essential that the IAF ensures availability of