Indian Military's Aging Equipment in Focus as Fighter Jet Crashes

By Santanu Choudhury 

NEW DELHI-An Indian Air Force fighter jet crashed Tuesday, a day after the country's military paraded its might in front of the nation and U.S. President Barack Obama during Republic Day celebrations.

An air force official said the pilot of the single-engine, single-seater MiG-27 aircraft of Russian origin ejected safely before the plane crashed in Barmer, in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, which borders Pakistan.

"The plane was on a routine mission," the official said, without elaborating.

The crash highlights the aging equipment of the Indian armed forces. The South Asian country has been seeking to modernize its mainly Soviet-era military equipment to face an increasingly assertive China, as well as Pakistan, but the pace has been dogged by delays on several key projects.

Among the delayed projects is India's attempt to buy 126 fighter jets. Dassault Aviation S.A. of France was chosen as the preferred bidder in January 2012 but an agreement has yet to be signed.

India's armed forces have been hit by other accidents in the past year.

In March last year, a Lockheed Martin Corp. C-130J Super Hercules transport plane crashed in central India, killing all five air force personnel on board.

On Feb. 26 last year, the country's naval chief, Admiral D.K. Joshi, resigned to take responsibility for several accidents, including a fire on a submarine earlier that day that left two crew members dead.

The Russia-made MiG series of fighter jets form the mainstay of India's air force. The MiG-21 fighter jet -the combat backbone of the air force for decades--has been connected to so many crashes that it earned the moniker of 'flying coffin.'

India celebrated its 66th Republic Day on Monday with Mr. Obama in attendance as the chief guest. The parade saw displays by the country's armed forces including precision fly past by Russia-made Sukhoi Su-30MKI and MiG-29K fighter jets, as well as the C130J Super Hercules transport aircraft, P-8I maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare jet and the C-17 Globemaster airlifter-all of which were procured from the U.S.

Write to Santanu Choudhury at [e-mail]

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