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The Indian Air Force (IAF) can reduce the effects of fighter-delivery delays by keeping its current fleet serviceable, upgrading aircraft where programmes are approved, preserving pilot and maintainer training, and strengthening radar, command-and-control, electronic-warfare and airbase-defence systems. Those measures can help existing forces perform more effectively, but they cannot replace missing combat aircraft or eliminate a fighter-squadron shortfall.

What readiness measures can do—and what they cannot

Combat readiness is not just the number of fighter squadrons on paper. It also depends on whether aircraft are available and equipped for their assigned missions, whether pilots and maintainers are proficient, and whether aircraft can operate within a functioning network of sensors, command systems and defences.

That distinction matters when new fighters arrive late. Better maintenance, upgrades and training can protect the capability of the force already in service; radar and air-defence improvements can strengthen the wider system. None of those measures creates the aircraft capacity that a larger fleet would provide.

The available figures show the scale of the challenge, but they are dated snapshots, not a current readiness assessment. An October 2025 Indian Express report reproduced in a DRDO-hosted clipping put the IAF at 29 fighter squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 42 after the MiG-21 retirement in September 2025. That is the latest figure identified here, not a verified count for October 2026. Squadron totals also do not establish how many aircraft are serviceable or how many sorties the IAF can generate.

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Keep the aircraft already in service available

Prioritise maintenance, engines and parts

For the near term, the most direct way to preserve flying capacity is to keep existing aircraft maintained: complete inspections and repairs on schedule, overhaul engines, and ensure that parts and support equipment are available when needed. The Ministry of Defence’s 2023 year-end review records engine-overhaul activity and the move toward paperless maintenance management. Digital workflows can help organise maintenance information, but the review does not report fleet-wide serviceability rates or show that these initiatives produced a particular increase in available aircraft.

Upgrade the fleet without confusing proposals with completed work

The same 2023 Ministry review records an approved need to upgrade the Su-30MKI fleet and procurement activity for radar-warning and electronic-warfare equipment. These are relevant ways to preserve or improve the usefulness of aircraft in service, but the review does not establish that every aircraft has received the equipment or that a fleet-wide upgrade is complete.

That distinction is especially important for the larger Su-30MKI upgrade proposal. An October 2025 Indian Express report reproduced in a DRDO clipping said the proposal was still being examined by the Ministry. On that evidence, it should be described as under examination—not as finally approved, underway across the fleet or completed.

Make any service-life decision an engineering decision

Phased retirements and any proposed life extension have to be governed by airworthiness, inspection findings and engineering approval. Maintenance or an upgrade does not by itself establish that an aircraft can safely remain in service longer. The available sources do not support returning retired MiG-21s to service or extending another type’s life without certification.

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Improve the capability of each aircraft

When fleet size cannot be increased immediately, improvements to avionics, sensors, radar, electronic warfare and weapon integration can make aircraft already in service more effective or more survivable. These upgrades are not interchangeable: their value depends on the aircraft, mission and systems actually installed and supported.

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The Ministry of Defence’s Tejas material describes the Mk1A as planned to include updated avionics, an AESA radar, an electronic-warfare suite and beyond-visual-range capability. Those are programme features, not evidence that every Tejas in service has them. For the Su-30MKI, the Ministry’s 2023 review identifies an upgrade need, while the October 2025 report says the larger proposal remained under examination.

Capability gains depend on more than fitting hardware. The aircraft, weapons, software, maintainers and pilots must be prepared to use the upgraded systems. The consulted sources do not quantify the readiness gain or operational availability resulting from any of these measures.

Protect pilot and maintainer proficiency

Keep the training pipeline moving

Aircraft-delivery delays can create a parallel training problem: pilots and technicians must be ready to convert to new types and support them when aircraft arrive. The Ministry of Defence’s 2023 review records a contract with HAL for 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft, with supply specified over six years. Its account also says the Tejas twin-seater was delivered to the IAF and designed to support training requirements while augmenting the fighter role if needed.

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The Ministry’s service account identifies No. 45 Squadron as the first IAF Tejas unit and says No. 18 Squadron began operating Tejas in May 2020. These are historical milestones; they do not establish how many aircraft from either squadron are available now. Nor do the trainer contract or twin-seat role quantify training throughput or show that trainer aircraft can substitute for operational fighters on combat tasks.

Train maintainers alongside pilots

Conversion and sustainment require trained technicians and maintainers as well as pilots. The IAF therefore needs personnel training to keep pace with the aircraft and systems entering service, including upgraded avionics and electronic-warfare equipment. The sources reviewed do not specify the time, staffing or training capacity required, so no precise conversion timeline can be inferred.

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Use networks and layered defence as force multipliers

Fighters are more useful when they can draw on radar coverage, warning systems and effective command-and-control. Electronic warfare can support aircraft survivability, while airbase protection and air-defence systems help protect the infrastructure aircraft need to operate. These measures complement fighter availability; they do not count as additional fighter squadrons.

The Ministry’s 2023 review records IAF initiatives involving radar, radar-warning equipment, electronic warfare and maintenance. A December 2025 Tribune report reproduced in a DRDO-hosted clipping described work to strengthen the Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), accelerate Akash-NG and advance airbase-protection measures. Because that account is secondary reporting, it should be treated as reported work or plans—not proof that those systems have been deployed or reached a particular operational status.

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Manage the transition without treating plans as deliveries

New-aircraft programmes are part of the bridge out of a shortfall, but an order, proposal or development programme is not the same as an aircraft arriving, being accepted and becoming operational. The December 2025 Tribune report reproduced in a DRDO-hosted clipping reported an order for 97 additional Tejas Mk1A aircraft and an IAF pitch for 114 Rafale aircraft. It also listed work on Tejas Mk2, AMCA, IACCS and air-defence programmes. Those details describe what the dated report said; they do not establish current approval status, delivery schedules or operational arrivals.

A December 2024 PTI report summarising a parliamentary defence committee described the response to declining squadron strength as “multi-pronged approaches to minimise the impact.” The phrase captures the practical logic: sustain the fleet, preserve training, improve aircraft capability and strengthen supporting systems in parallel. It does not mean those measures remove the need for replacement fighters.

What the public evidence can—and cannot—show

The Ministry of Defence’s 2023 review is useful for identifying recorded initiatives and programme baselines, but it does not provide a current inventory or fleet-wide readiness rates. The latest squadron figure identified here is secondary reporting from October 2025, and the programme details in the December 2025 clipping are also secondary. None of the cited material supplies sortie rates, aircraft serviceability rates, training throughput or a quantified readiness gain attributable to the measures discussed.

Accordingly, the strongest public conclusion is about the available levers, not their measured effect: maintenance and upgrades can preserve aircraft capability; training keeps people ready to operate and support the fleet; and networks and layered defence can strengthen the force around those aircraft. Whether these efforts are sufficient to maintain a specific level of combat readiness cannot be established from the published figures cited here.

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