The Command Chain

Ministry of Defence, India

Astra can reportedly hit targets beyond 100km with guidance and navigation system on par, if not better than foreign-origin air-to-air missiles. Successfully tested on Su-30MKI platforms, it complements imported BVR missiles such as the Russian R-77 and French MICA across India’s fleet.

At sea, similar progress is seen with the Extended Range Anti-Submarine Rocket (ERASR), developed by DRDO’s Armament Research and Development Establishment in partnership with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory and Naval Science & Technological Laboratory. Trials aboard INS Kavaratti from June 23 and July 7, met all range accuracy, electronic time fuse performance and detonation parameters, validating it as a supplement or replacement for Russian origin RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers.

Indigenisation reflects the strategic doctrine of making backbone platforms more self-reliant by gradually replacing key subsystems with locally made ones. Adding homegrown capability, locally made parts, to existing structures operational continuity and minimises retraining. It also reduces the risks that come with integration and spreads industrial risk over a longer timeframe.

India’s combat helicopter capabilities are entering a new phase, beyond utility and logistical support. The Army’s acquisition of six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, three already received, reflects the reshaping of the tri-services rotorcraft ecosystem into a layered, networked, highly mobile force multiplier, beyond air support. These assets allow reconnaissance-strike integration, high-altitude manoeuvre and persistent firepower in border conflicts.

The IAF operates 22 AH-64Es inducted between 2019 and 2020. These are equipped with advanced sensors, Longbow radar, fire-and-forget Hellfire missiles and standoff rocket systems. The Army’s six AH-64Es aligns rotary firepower more closely with ground force command and tactical planning. The Apaches will be based in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur and deployed in western and northern theatres.

India’s rotary aviation rests on Russian-origin helicopters — the numerical and operational backbone. The Mi-17 V5 is the workhorse IAF’s medium-lift and air assault missions; older Mi-8 and Mi-17 variants remain active in disaster relief, casualty evacuation and troop transport. Mi-17s equipped with rockets and gun pods have been deployed in counter-insurgency operations and during standoffs along the Line of Actual Control.

The Navy’s Kamov helicopters, Ka-28 and Ka-31, procured from Russia, engage in anti-submarine and airborne early warning roles respectively. Though ageing, these remain critical to Navy’s surveillance and fleet support tasks. Similarly, the iconic Sea King helicopters — procured from UK and later upgraded – are naval rotary aviation’s backbone engaged in anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and over-the-horizon targeting. Some are being phased out, but Sea Kings still operate from frontline warships — the moniker “flying frigates” an ode to both their versatility and longevity.

IAF and the Army also use indigenous systems like the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) ‘Prachand’, developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) optimised for high-altitude operations — it can operate at altitudes exceeding 16,000 feet — and tested in the Leh-Ladakh region. The LCH features a glass cockpit, stealth-optimised fuselage and integrated weapons suite including air-to-air missiles, a 20mm chin-mounted gun and guided rockets. Its projected requirement exceeds 160 units, as LCH is expected to complement heavier attack helicopters and offer indigenous, high-altitude strike capability.

Navy’s Sea Kings will likely be replaced by the Sirkosky MH-60R Seahawks from US. These multi-role helicopters bring enhanced anti-submarine warfare capability with dipping sonars, sonobuoys and lightweight torpedoes, alongside surface strike and surveillance roles. The ALH Dhruv’s naval variant continues its shipborne logistics, SAR and utility roles, with further maritime-specific variants under development.

India’s tri-service helicopter fleet is layered by role, capability and altitude. At the top, Apaches provide heavy strike and battlefield suppression. The mid-weight LCH provide agile high-altitude firepower, while ALH Rudra — a weaponised Dhruv – covers multi-role utility and fire support in both Army and Air Force. At sea, the Ka-series helicopters, Seahawks, Sea Kings and ALH variants enable anti-submarine warfare, airborne early warning and logistics across blue water and littoral environments.

This distributed architecture enables mission-specific optimisation: Apaches for armoured pushback, LCHs for troop support in difficult terrain, and Russian legacy platforms for deep logistics and sustainment. Sea Kings and Ka-series helicopters remain vital in layered maritime operations until fully replaced.

India’s rotary future is likely to involve greater convergence of manned and unmanned assets. Projects for rotary UAVs, optionally piloted helicopters and manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) are under study, especially for high-threat or surveillance-heavy environments. Platform modernisation, better integration of indigenous sensors and precision munitions and deeper tri-service interoperability are expected to define the next decade of combat helicopter evolution

Rotorcraft (helicopters) – through a layered platform architecture, operational redistribution across services and strategic indigenisation — is expanding its role, earlier led mostly by fixed-wing combat capabilities (fighter craft). The Army’s use of Apaches signals bigger changes are on the way.

The Navy’s acquisition of the Rafale-Marine fighter marks a new chapter in its carrier-borne aviation journey. The first batch expected soon, Navy is preparing to field the combat-proven carrier fighters aboard INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier. As attention shifts to its high-performance capabilities, here’s a look a that have led India’s seaborne air power for over six decades—INAS 300 and INAS 303.

Commissioned in 1959 at the UK’s RNAS Brawdy with Sea Hawks, INAS 300, known as The White Tigers, Indian Navy’s first fighter squadron, pioneered carrier-borne fighter operations and saw combat in 1971, where they played a crucial role in the naval blockade and bombardment of East Pakistani ports. In the 1980s, the Navy transitioned to Sea Harriers, maintaining air defence from INS Vikrant (R11), the second aircraft carrier acquired from the UK.

This leap in capability allowed Indian Navy to maintain fixed-wing air power even on smaller carriers with ski-jumps and limited deck space. INAS 300 retained its lead role as the operational core of carrier air defence well into the 2000s.

In 2013, with the induction of the Russian origin MiG-29K carrier-capable multirole fighter, INAS 300 passed the baton to a newly raised squadron, INAS 303 — The Black Panthers. The Black Panthers delivered supersonic, high-agility naval air combat operating from INS Vikramaditya. The MiG-29K introduced fly-by-wire controls, multimode radar and precision-guided munitions to the naval aviation mix. The MiG-29K initially struggled with maintenance and performance issues, but upgrades have since stabilised the platform as the Navy’s frontline fighter, until the Rafale-M arrives.