“Four brave men who do not know each other will not dare attack a lion. Four less brave, but knowing each other well, sure of their reliability and consequently of mutual aid, will attack resolutely.”
Col. Ardant du Picq
Through two world wars, as technology improved, modern war has become more and more reliant on airpower. Tactics are continuously evolved and modified for quick success in aerial combat as well as for victorious strike mission. Did you ever wonder, how a group of fighter aircraft are forged into lethal weapons?
It is the way leaders are able to guide his team to fly, to communicate, to aid each other and finally deliver the weapon of choice for the desired results. While technology has slowly shifted the point of autonomy — from bullets to short-range infrared missiles, then to longer-range radar missiles, and now remotely operated aircraft — for our lifetimes the primary weapon of war will still be the human. A generation of countrymen seems to have forgotten a simple lesson from history: it is leadership not technology that has made the difference during any engagement.
It is often said that leadership is more of an art than a science. I submit that flight leadership is an art enabled by science. And this applies to all fields of operational leadership in the Air Force — on land as well as in air, space, and cyberspace. Today we will meet one of the Fighter Strike Leader of Indian Air Force and learn more about leadership traits and training programme.
So tighten your seat belts and here we go….
- Prashant, what motivated you to join Indian Air Force?
I could go gaga about watching Topgun at an age when adolescents get easily swayed by cinema and dream of becoming ‘the hero’ or doing something similar to what he does. But, frankly speaking, it was first come first serve. I happened to apply for the NDA entrance exams along with three like-minded batchmates during Senior Secondary schooling. It was the first form that I had filled followed by preparing for the regular ones for taking up higher education. I had almost forgotten about the NDA entrance exams, when out of the blue, in September 1991, I was informed by my father that I had cleared the NDA entrance exam along with one of the three of us who had filled the form together. And then it all began. A few days of hasty discussions yielded the decision that a career in the armed forces would be as good as any other. Fortunately for me, there was a senior from school who was in the National Defence Academy and I could get some inputs from his parents about what it was going to be like. Besides this, I had frequently seen Jaguar aircraft and helicopters flying in and around my native place, Gorakhpur (UP). This had earlier prompted me to fill the Air Force as the first option while filling the form. A crash course for SSB interview, followed by the interview, medicals and then the results followed. All in all, the experience itself was quite exhilarating and it dawned upon us that probably the decision of joining the National Defence Academy was not wrong. The subsequent exposure to the Air Force through my Divisional Officers at NDA and instructors at the Air Force Academy, later motivated me to opt for the fighter stream.
- Tell our readers about your flying experience in IAF, type of aircraft and flight hours?
After completing my basic flying training at the Air Force Academy, I was allotted the fighter stream and went to Tezpur for training on fighter aircraft i.e. the MiG-21 FL. Though, that was not what I wished for. I deeply wanted to fly the Jaguars and knew that only those who get to fly Hunters would get posted to Jaguar squadrons after their training. Nonetheless, after completing training on MiG-21 FL aircraft, I got posted to one of the premier MiG-21 M bases in the western sector. During this tenure, I had the opportunity to take part in Op Safed Sagar, which was truly a great experience, and exposed me to the trials and tribulations of life in a fighter squadron, and the mind game of a warrior. Besides the challenge of fighter flying, I learnt about teamwork, the role of each and every individual in contributing to the success of a mission, and that above all, hard work and persistence founded upon deep knowledge about your craft, is the only key to success.
This was followed by two back to back postings to Mig-27 ML squadron in the East. In five years, I acquired further knowledge about fighter operations. I progressed from being a rookie pilot to fully operational level by gaining the requisite experience and subsequent qualifications on this aircraft. I also got the second opportunity of participating in actual operations in Op Parakram.
After about two years of completing the Fighter Strike Leader course and having gained combat experience on Mig-27 ML aircraft, I was posted back to a MiG-21 squadron. During the period from 2000 to 2008, I was able to learn about the diverse roles that the fighter aircraft of the IAF would undertake during the war. Performing the roles of a supervisor, training ab-initio pilots to exploit an aerial platform throughout its envelope, were great experiences and provided a lot of satisfaction. Though the routine for each day is quite similar, any two missions are never the same. This kept the adequate amount of adrenaline flowing and the associated excitement, which I had become comfortable with. After that, I did a tenure in an Air NCC unit and then back in a MIG 21 training squadron. After two years of instructional duties, I was posted to a MiG 27 Upgrade squadron, as a senior supervisor. During this tenure, I had a first-hand experience of the contribution of technology in enhancing the employability and effectiveness of a combat platform. This penultimate posting was at Air HQs, where I got invaluable exposure to higher defence organisation and the understanding of airpower as a critical element of modern warfare. My last posting at a SU 30 MKI base, as SASIO, gave me the opportunity to learn about and fly in the most advanced combat platform of the IAF.
I took premature at 21 years of service after a highly demanding, yet deeply satisfying career in the IAF. I had flown more than 1200 hours on MiG 21, about 1000 hours MiG 27, and a few hundred hours on training and microlite aircraft.
I am deeply indebted to the air warriors who contributed to my record of accident-free, safe flying. I can truly say that I have been fortunate to have served with the best of the best professionals and above all, human beings. The short years of my life in the IAF have left me with memories that will remain etched in my memories forever.
- You were selected to undergo Fighter Strike Leader (FSL) course. What are the qualification requirements for the course?
The qualifications for the FSL course like the other professional flying courses was to be Four Aircraft Leader, Green Instrument rating and 500 hours of flying experience. Needless to say, the Commanding Officers recommendation for the nominee’s suitability to undertake the course is mandatory. While these are the explicit requirements, the ability to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitude to lead people in war is an essential requirement to be selected for this course. This implies evaluation of the performance of all that an individual has done right from Day 1 in the Academy to the tenure in fighter squadrons, in basic leadership and continued education training courses, until the date of the signal of nomination for the course.
- TACDE plays a vital role in achieving the strategic objectives of IAF. Is it only fighter pilots who get trained at TACDE or officers from other stream and branch also get trained?
The changing nature of warfare and the increasing role of aerospace power necessitates that aerial assets are utilised optimally in every operation. Being a highly technology-intensive force, it is imminent that the man behind the machine is adequately equipped to exploit the asset entrusted to him. To provide holistic training and exposure to the entire gamut of aerial warfare, air warriors from almost all combat arms comprising of the crew from different branches also undergo training at TACDE. The degree and level at which these courses are pitched are dependent on the role of that combat element. Moreover, the courses also have some inbuilt high-level exercises where air warriors from different combat elements along with the support systems participate. These resources are mobilised from across the air force and participants get a realistic exposure to the diverse roles and tasks that the IAF can be called upon to execute.
- What is the aim, objective and role of the TACDE?
‘TEJAS TEJASWI NAMAHAM’ – The motto taken from the Bhagwad Gita and meaning ‘ I am the glory of the glorious’ enshrines what TACDE as an institution stands for in the Indian Air Force. It aims to impart the knowledge to the air warriors that will help them to become the cutting edge and lead the air force during operations, during peace as well as at war. The gamut of training encompasses the study and application of air force assets to all dimensions of modern warfare, which in the present context has expanded far beyond the classical roles. Today airpower is expected to seamlessly integrate with the ongoing operations at all levels of war be it on land, in the air or at sea. It also involves utilising the available aerial resources optimally under diverse situations.
The training at TACDE comprises of ground training and flying training where the aerial tactics are practised. During the courses, rigour is built-in by the extensive preparation required for each mission, briefings, infallible execution of missions and incisive debriefs. These are not the only value addition for the trainees; it is the attitude ofsense of critical observation and analysis of the situation, technological appreciation, precision, acuity, persistent hard work, grit to deliver under highly stressful conditions, and above all the ability to respond and lead teams to success, that provide the larger benefit to the IAF. The course provides an environment not only to apply what has been learnt by the pilots up to that stage in their career but also build upon this knowledge and put it into practice, in future.
- Will it be correct to say that success in any campaign would largely depend on tactics developed and training imparted at this prestigious institution. Kindly elaborate?
Yes, the tactics developed at TACDE would form the bedrock of operational level tactics employed by combat arms of the IAF. The continuous analysis and assessment of the advancements in technology and performance of aerial platforms and their impact on air operations is an important responsibility of the institution. This further leads to the development of new tactics that will be applied during war. The courses on the other hand are for perfecting the air combat skills of the experienced pilots since in the present context, the man behind the machines is the key to success in air battles. The nuanced understanding of tactics, honing of skills and strengthening of attitudes combined together makes the graduates what they are, and enables them to take on the onerous task of imparting combat training across the IAF during their future postings to fighter squadrons.
- What is the role of FSL at squadron level and how does this training help in achieving squadron objective?
The role of the Squadron FSL (or FCL) includes all the operational aspects of fighter flying like the application of theoretical principles of air combat and ground attack, fighter tactics, weaponeering, adoption of new tactics, the study of technological advancements and acquisitions of aerial weapons and systems, supervision during day to day flying activities, planning of large scale air force exercises and joint exercises with the sister services, and so on. Regular interaction of the Squadron FSL or FCL with the personnel from other branches and close monitoring of preparatory tasks also helps in building the team spirit and enhances the sense of commitment of each air warrior in the squadron and the airbase.
Ultimately, it is the precision and accuracy with which the weapon strikes the target or how a kill is achieved in the air and this depends to a large extent on the degree of involvement of the Squadron FSL or FCL in the air combat training in the squadron. Besides the other supervisors in a squadron, the behavioural aspect of inculcating the correct habits and development of the right attitude is personified by the Squadron FSL or FCL, which in turn leads to the evolution of young rookie pilots into ‘fighter pilots’ in the true sense.
- The modern battlefield in changing very fast. What role such traditional institutes will play specially in case of AI, IoT and machine learning when new technology has very short shelf life.
Future technologies are bringing about a paradigm shift in the way modern warfare is being executed, at land, sea or in the air. And this is applicable to the continuum from low-intensity conflict to global war. This change is happening at an accelerated pace due to advancements in computing and communications technologies. The information has been a crucial element in warfare, and the side which has an upper hand in this domain has an edge over his adversary. Technologies like ML, AI, IoT, BlockChain, Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, empower a fighting force with the ability to execute the observe, orientate, decide and act cycle (OODA Loop) which is primarily built upon information, at a much faster pace compared to the technologically handicapped force. However, the ability to operate these systems over the entire spectrum of warfare is going to be constrained by the capability of the man behind the machine (till truly intelligent systems that are capable of functioning and evolving without any human interference develop).
Technology is not a panacea. It is the man behind the machine that will matter in the foreseeable future or till the time entities with Artificial Intelligence abilities out-perform humans. Technology will largely impact the performance of airborne platforms, weapons and weapon control systems, information networks, processing of this information, which in turn reduces the sensor to shooter cycle. Future technologies will minimise human intervention and remove the element of heuristics from the employment of strategy and tactics. So, in effect, these could lead to a transformation of operational art or the art of deploying military resources in battle into operational science, which will rely more on data, analytics and based on experiments and observations.
The study of airpower is an ongoing process and undertaken at many traditional institutes of learning. The training imparted at specialist institutions like TACDE, specifically enables the air warrior to develop a critical appreciation of technology including future technologies, and their impact on air combat tactics. Besides the formulation of tactics, inputs from this institution are necessarily obtained while making changes at the doctrinal level, too.
Thanks Prashant for sharing your views and experience.
Wing Commander Prashant Singh (Retired) was commissioned in the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force in Dec 1995. He is a graduate from the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla; a Fighter Strike Leader from the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE), and has undergone several other professional courses including specialisation in Electronic Warfare and Aerospace Safety & Accident Investigation. During his 21 years of service, he served at some of the frontline bases of the IAF, participated actively in Op Safed Sagar in 1999 and Op Parakram in 2001-02, and flew 2500 hours on
MiG 21 and MiG-27 aircraft.
He also holds a Masters Degree in Human Resource Management, is a certified Lead Auditor of ISO 9001:2015 QMS, Diploma in Training and Development, Diploma in International Trade, and several other professional certifications. He is currently associated with Ancor Research Labs LLP, a company operating in the Defence and Aerospace manufacturing sector, based at Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India.
