, India's airforce chief said Friday it was planning to expand to keep pace with India's move to become an economic super power.
Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy told a press conference in New Delhi that the Indian Air Force (IAF) would go from 39 squadrons to 60 squadrons over the next 10 years.
If India has a vision to become a major world power by the year 2020, “the forces must be capable of taking care of those interests,” he said.
But he said the expansion of the IAF was not intended to be aimed at any country, including traditional rival Pakistan.
“We are not Pakistan-centric… Pakistan is meaningless to us,” he said.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947 and came close to another last year.
Last month, India and Israel signed a one-billion dollar deal for the sale of three Phalcon airborne early warning radar systems to the IAF.
Krishnaswamy said recent statements by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf that the acquisition of new arms by India including the Phalcon system would fuel an arms race in South Asia, were “propaganda of sorts.”
“It is a part of a campaign by our neighbouring country,” he said adding India did not have any territorial or expansionist ambitions.
“We are not here to invade any country… the IAF is more than concerned about the proper management and maintenance of its inventory,” he said.
The actual induction of the Phalcon radar system into the IAF would take about three to five years as the technology involved is very complex, he said.
The air chief said there would be a series of exercises with the US and British air forces next year to sharpen the skills of its personnel.
The United States Air Force (USAF) will visit India in February for exercises including US F-15 fighters.
In July IAF personnel will go to Alaska and four to six of the IAF's Jaguar aircraft will take part in the exercises for the first.
The IAF has also been interacting with its Chinese counterpart, with 70 officers of the Chinese air force recently visiting India's Western Air Command, the largest and most important operational commands.
The Indian and Chinese navies will next week hold their first ever military exercises off the Shanghai coast.
