Air Farce

1.. In 1982, the Indian Air Force identified the need for advanced jet trainers for its pilots.
2.It then took the air force five years to spell out its requirements to the ministry. In 1987, the IAF told the government that it needed 66 advanced jet trainers
3.However, it was not until 2004 -- a full 22 years after the need was felt -- that the government signed a contract with BAE Systems
4.Here's the CHARMING part: The government signed a contract for 66 trainer aircraft, 24 of which were to be supplied in the fly-away condition and the rest license-manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited.Sixty-six is the number of trainers that the air force wanted in 1987. And 66 is the number of trainers that the government orders in 2004. No study was conducted to figure out the increase in the IAF's requirements in the 17-odd years that took for the government to act on it.
5.In the CAG's words: 'It took 22 years to finalise contracts towards fulfilling the felt need for inducting an aircraft to meet essential training requirements of the IAF pilots. The supply and production of the aircraft was based on air staff requirements that were not reviewed since their issue in 1987. The restriction in utilisation of aircraft would compromise operational and training requirements.'
6.There is more: 'Because of software and integration problems, the IAF cannot utilise 40 per cent of the flying time. Due to pending integration of electronic weapons suite, the aircraft could not be used for tactical weapon training, limiting the operational use of the aircraft.'