| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is into its eighth decade and as it closes in on its centenary, a mere two decades away, many a treatise has been propounded on the challenges ahead for the youngest armed service of independent India. What started as a mere flight of Wapitis at Drigh Road, Karachi, has grown into a potent power projection arm of the state.
The IAF derives its fortitude from its motto, Nabha Sparsham Deeptam (Touch the Sky with Glory). But there is perhaps a limitation in the coining of this motto as there is a hint of conclusiveness in the envelope of operation of Air Power. A more intuitive and farsighted approach may well have resulted in its coining to include space, the final frontier. But is space the final frontier? One better be careful lest a scribe writing about the IAF a few decades from now also questions this writer's perceptive ability!
Limiting the horizon to a manageable timeframe makes the future 'realistically' transparent. So, considering a timespan of 20 years, when the IAF turns 100, let's evaluate how the anticipated threats and challenges are to be addressed based on the IAF doctrine.
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