Does The IAF Need A Strategic Bomber?

Advances in satellite and rocket technologies have distended the definitional domain of ‘air power’ into ‘aerospace power’. In simple words, aerospace power signifies a nation’s capability to exploit air and space in support of its national objectives. A logical extension of this idea is the ability to deny or degrade a similar capability for the enemy. Aerial bombing of enemy targets with strategic value played a vital role during World War II; but the term ‘strategic bomber’ attained a new connotation as a currency of nuclear projection as part of a ‘triad’. Nuclear deterrence remains a preoccupation with Indian strategic thought due to threat from hostile neighbours Pakistan and China, both possessing nuclear weapons. While the nuclear factor inhibits full-scale war, the fact that both of these nations are inimical to us, renders conflict in the form of a limited war a possibility. The capability of using strike aircraft for bombing strategic targets over enemy territory is thus an essential element of aerospace power. Is this capability embodied in a strategic bomber and what is a strategic bomber? Read More…