IDHAR UDHAR KI BAAT 79 – CRYBABY ( रोंदु बच्चा) --Brig PS Gothra(Retd)

“Which aircraft is better, the Su-57 or the F-35?” asked the young man, his eyes gleaming with curiosity when he found out that I was an ex-serviceman.

I racked my brain for an answer but found myself at a loss. I was ignorant of their precise characteristics. Instead, I responded, “I don’t know which one is better, but I do know which one we will buy.”

Seeing my nonchalance, he tried to steer the conversation elsewhere. “Isn’t it a proud moment that both aircraft are sharing the tarmac on Indian soil?”

I raised an eyebrow. Proud moment? How? All I saw were two vendors knocking on our door, presenting their wares. A grand perception management exercise, nothing more. I couldn’t help but remark, “I see it as a slap on our face. It proves that despite our Prime Minister’s best efforts with Atmanirbhar Bharat, we are still poised to spend a fortune procuring one of these aircraft from abroad. People have to take his sublime vision forward, you cannot expect him to go around kicking people. And beyond just that, I have two major concerns with this kind of procurement.”

The boy looked at me with intrigue. “What concerns, sir?”

“First, it signals that we intend to fight wars the way others do. Great nations do not copy foreign strategies; they develop their own. Mimicking someone else’s methods only increases our chances of winning battles on their terms, not ours.”

He chuckled. “Sir, but the technological gap is so wide! How can we fight with our hands tied behind our backs? Our neighbors are always ready to pounce on us.”

I nodded. “You’re right about the technology differential and the constant threat from our neighbors. Together, they can muster nearly 100 squadrons of fighter aircraft, attacking us from multiple directions. Our Air Force has been developing solid strategies to counter them. But should we merely defend? Or should we prepare to give them a bloody nose? We can’t achieve that by joining a fighter jet arms race that we simply cannot afford. Instead, we must change how we fight. It’s called asymmetric warfare. We need to invest in disruptive technologies—cheaper, more effective innovations that are harder for the enemy to counter.”

I leaned in. “Think about it. If we buy one of these fancy stealth aircraft, the country selling it will be the first to know when we fit specific weapons onto its pods. It’s like a game of basketball—you don’t always have to jump higher to block your opponent from scoring. Sometimes, you just hold his jersey… or his balls”

He laughed. “Then why aren’t we doing it?”

“Because no one has time to think in these terms. We are a land of Chanakya. Intellectually our senior leader are no less than anyone in the world, yet we waste our intellect. Politicians have no breathing space, constantly stuck in election campaigns and political turmoil. Our military and bureaucratic leadership is drowning in social commitments—marriage functions, useless seminars, inaugurations, media events. If you analyse their travel schedules, you’ll feel pity for them and wonder how they even find time to breathe, let alone plan for the future.”

He thought for a moment and then asked, “Sir, you could have done something, right?”

“Oh, I have done plenty. I have cried. I cried when I realized how far China had outpaced us in drone technology. I cried again when I saw them launching deep-seek. Why? Because I know that with these advancements, they can tighten their grip on our balls the moment we attempt to leap in this imaginary basketball game.”

“And what is your other concern?”

“I wonder whether we encashed on the opportunity  in this Air Expo 2025.”

“How sir?”

“This was the time we could have recorded the acoustic, visual, radar and other type of signatures from these stealth aircraft and worked on seeing through their camouflage. After all the Chinese stealth aircraft the J-20, J-35, and JH-XX couldn’t be much different.”

“If we have not done so?”

“The heads should roll as such event have a bigger purpose and not band baja barat show.”

The boy did not like my pessimism. He was silent for a few seconds before shifting the conversation. “You claimed to know which aircraft India will buy. Which one is it?”

I smirked. “The F-35. Because the analysts will get ‘incentives’—trips to visit their sons and daughters settled in the USA. Tell me, who would willingly go to Russia for a tour? You never know when an unguided missile from Ukraine might land on their heads.”

“Chalo, Mainu Ki? (How does it matter to me?),” I said, before walking away.

#MilitaryStrategy  #DefenseProcurement  #F35  #Su57 #F35 vs Su57 #IndiaDefense  #Geopolitics  #AsymmetricWarfare  #AtmanirbharBharat #IndianAirForce  #GlobalSecurity  #TechInnovation  #WarTactics  #MilitaryTech  #NationalSecurity  #JaiHind

 

A video on Chinese sixth generation fighter aircraft https://www.youtube.com/live/4JrJ7oDYQJw?si=YSD6ZwISVQIsnqzL