I¡¯m not much into politics; as a good soldier, I¡¯m absolutely apolitical.
But I must say the Prime Minister flying in the trainer version of the Tejas fighter plane is extraordinary.
When I was a fighter pilot, I have seen officers of other branches of the Indian Air Force being offered similar flights, for a better understanding of fighter operations.
A few were interested, a few were not, and many were hesitant because of the risks.
They were all young, serving soldiers, but here it was the Prime Minister himself!
Typically, the unit assigned would send the most experienced pilot to fly the VVIP. That pilot will not do any aerobatics and will fly a few mild turns without inverting or rolling the aircraft.
And they would stay close to the airfield, to recover quickly if anything goes wrong.
It might sound similar to your flying in an airline, but it is not.
Why? ?
You have seen many VIPs taking joyrides in fighter planes in the recent years, but the PM¡¯s flight differs from all of them, because they flew in twin-engine fighter planes.
The fighter plane that the PM flew in, Tejas, has a single engine.
Someone once asked, ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? My car also has only one engine!¡±
As I have often said, in case of engine trouble, you cannot stop an airplane on the roadside and await help.
Typically, jet engines turn at 12000 revolutions per minute. That¡¯s 200 revolutions per second. Add to that the plane¡¯s forward speed, around 600 KMPH.
At that speed, any object getting sucked into the engine could cause severe damage.
The IAF, as indeed every civilian airport, ensures a clean airfield environment to avoid stones and other things.
But birds are totally unpredictable.
One getting into the engine could damage it enough to shut it down, and, in a single-engine fighter plane that can hardly glide, they¡¯ll have no choice but to eject.
Ejections are generally safe, but not always.
I sat on a hard ejection seat all my life in the IAF and luckily never had to use one, but I have seen friends and colleagues who were forced to eject, suffering from different degrees of injuries¡ªfrom minor discomfort for a few days to lifelong disability and paralysis.
A few also lost their lives.
Now you realise the enormity of the act.
A 73-year-old Prime Minister, risking an illustrious career and a comfortable retirement, choosing to fly in a Tejas aircraft, is exceptional bravery.
What did he achieve with this flight?
He proved to the world his, and India¡¯s, faith in its indigenous fighter.
This flight will modify, pardon the pun, MODI-fy the world¡¯s opinion of India¡¯s defence production.
Given the astronomical costs of modern fighter aircraft, most nations can¡¯t afford American, Russian and European planes.
Some buy older models from them, and some turn to China for cheaper alternatives.
And now, India offers an option.
Large-scale military purchases rarely happen without geo-political and economic strings being attached.
Not all nations are comfortable with that.
Dependence on any one side or country can be detrimental to national security, so having a neutral, non-aggressive and reliable supplier would be a great choice for smaller and poorer nations.
If India can be that, we could soon be a superpower. ???
That is the real significance of this flight.
As the saying goes, ¡®Actions speak louder than words.¡¯
Some people didn¡¯t understand this action, like this young Indian living abroad. At least he took the trouble of texting me.
Expectedly, the PM¡¯s opposers called it a ¡®pre-election photo-op.¡¯??
And his thrilled followers flooded the social media with admiration.
As usual, some went too far.
Translated, it means, ¡°On this special occasion, if Modi ji had fired a missile or two towards Pakistan, that would have been great!¡±
Of course, since the PM was flying near Bengaluru, the missiles wouldn¡¯t have gone that far!
The writer is a former fighter pilot of the IAF and is now a commercial airline pilot. He is the author of three novels and many blog posts, available at?www.avinashchikte.com