New Delhi, Nov 27: The Indian Air Force has formulated modernisation plans to enhance its combat fleet in terms of quality as well as quantity, Rajya Sabha was informed today.
Defence minister George Fernandes said in a written reply that plans are also in hand to augment squadron force levels and for upgrading the existing fleet.
In reply to another question, he said there have been 146 accidents involving aircraft of the Indian Air Force since 1996 and as many as 69 were due to human error.
While 59 of them were due to technical defect, 7 were due to bird hit, he said.
The minister said the existing facilities are adequate to undertake flying training of pilots through pre-flying course and subsequent stages of training at flying training establishments.
He said the structure of syllabus and existing resources are also sufficient to meet the training requirements of Indian Air Force.
In order to improve the quality of training, government is also in the process of acquiring more simulators and inducting advanced jet trainers, he said.
In reply to another question, Fernandes said the government was concerned about MiIG-21 incidents.
However, aircraft, including MiG-21, are cleared to fly only when they are certified 100 per cent air worthy, he said.
Bureau Report
