Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh has called on the Indian Air Force (IAF) to learn from the Indian Navy's approach to indigenisation, highlighting the Navy's model of involving its personnel closely in shipbuilding programmes as an example that could help accelerate self-reliance in India's aviation sector.
Speaking after the commissioning of INS Malvan, the second Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), Singh said the Navy had embraced the goal of self-reliance much earlier and had made significant progress in indigenous shipbuilding.
"I just hope that the other two services, especially the Indian Air Force, learn the lesson as to how the Indian Navy has been able to get this whole concept right, where you have your Indian Navy officers who are embedded in your shipbuilding right from the beginning," Singh said.
He pointed out that naval personnel involved in the process remain within the shipbuilding ecosystem as they progress through their careers, with some continuing to contribute even after retirement.
"Something similar, I think, the Indian Air Force has to adopt to make sure that even in the aviation sector, our self-reliance, our dream of being self-reliant becomes a reality and becomes a reality soon," he said.
Singh acknowledged that the IAF had taken longer to pursue this model, noting that different sectors require different periods of time to develop. However, he said the Air Force was steadily moving closer to its goal of self-reliance.
The Air Chief also stressed that developing technology indigenously was not enough—it had to be developed quickly enough to remain relevant.
"If you are growing at a speed that by the time you design and develop something, by the time you produce something, the world has moved over to a new technology, then that has no meaning. According to me, any technology delayed is technology denied," he said.
While India's indigenous research, development and production capabilities were growing, Singh said there was still some distance to cover before the country achieved its targets.
Future wars will require greater jointness
Singh also used the occasion to underline the growing importance of jointness among the Army, Navy and Air Force, arguing that future conflicts cannot be fought successfully by any single service acting independently.
"No future war is going to be fought by an individual service. All of us, whether we are in blues (IAF), whites (Navy), or OGs (Olive Green of the Army), or whichever colour, whether we are in allied services, we all have to fight together as one nation, and then only we will succeed," he said.
The Air Chief said the push towards greater cooperation among the services had gathered momentum over the past four to five years, particularly following the creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff, and expressed confidence that it would continue to strengthen.
