New Delhi: In an indication that the difference of opinion between late General Bipin Rawat, the then Chief of Defence Staff (CSD), and the then IAF chief RKS Bhadauria on the role of airpower in a modern war situation, is not a thing of the past yet, on Thursday, the present IAF chief Vivek Ram Chaudhari reiterated the primal role of airpower as opposed to the days of conventional ‘boots on the ground’ war strategy.
Speaking at the Pragyan Conclave 2022 themed ‘Contours of Future Wars and Countermeasures’, ACM Chaudhari said, “In the past, the rise and fall of nations were dictated by the size and prowess of their fielded forces. However, conflicts in the last few decades have clearly established, without doubt, the pre-eminence of airpower as the instrument of choice for almost all operational contingencies.”
“The contours of recent conflicts and attacks show us that the military strategy of today cannot be based on erstwhile theories of ‘mass manoeuvre’ and ‘holding ground’, and we need to continuously evolve to stay contemporary. The nature of conflicts is also changing and a classical force versus force battle is becoming less relevant today.”
The controversy was sparked off on July 2, 2021, when CSD General Rawat had said in an interview that the IAF should not be having any reservations over the setting up of a single air defence command and that the IAF works on a supporting role for the fighting forces.
Underlining a supporting role for the IAF, he had said, “The Air Force is not just responsible for air defence. It has got another charter. It has got a charter of providing close air support to land forces when they undertake operations and for offensive air operations in case you go into the adversary's territory.”
Reacting to the CDS’ comment, the then ACM Bhadauria had said, “It (IAF) is not a supporting role at all. Air power has a huge role to play. In any of the integrated battle areas, it (air force role) is not about support alone and there are a whole lot of things that go into any airpower air plan that is made and those are issues…(being deliberated in-house)”.
The difference in opinion has a legacy in the belief that India’s biggest military reform effort of trying to establish integrated Theatre commands had run into rough weather with the IAF disagreeing to certain proposals on how the process was to be carried ahead.
Since then, while Gen Rawat passed away on December 8, 2021, in a tragic and shocking helicopter crash near Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor in the Nilgiris district, ACM Bhadauria has superannuated and the IAF got a new chief in ACM Chaudhari on September 30, 2021.
