The death of a young pilot and three fighter jet crashes prompt the question -- should there be more simulation training?
Three Indian Air Force fighter jets have crashed during training so far this year.
One pilot died and another was injured in the latest incident in Jamnagar, Gujarat, on April 2.
The IAF posted on X that the two-seat Jaguar crashed after being airborne at night. 'The pilots faced a technical malfunction', and ejected, avoiding harm to the local population and the airfield, the statement said.
The other pilots managed to eject safely in the earlier crashes in Ambala, Punjab, and Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, on March 7 and February 25, respectively.
A paratrooper from the IAF's skydiving team died after crash-landing during a demonstration in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, on April 5.
The IAF's inquiries into the three crashes -- one Mirage and two Jaguar -- are ongoing and have been categorised as 'most severe'.
Jet accidents or incidents are placed in categories, depending on the extent of damage.
This year's incidents or accidents are not unusual, going by global data, where the mishap rate is based on flight time. For the IAF, it's per 10,000 flying hours.
Even so, fighter crashes lead to losses: First, human lives -- trained or pilots in training (it takes years to be combat-ready) and the risk of crashing into inhabited areas; then, machine assets of the armed forces; and, on average, Rs 250 crore to Rs 500 crore (Rs 2.5 billion to Rs 5 billion) of public money.
India has lost hundreds of military aircraft in peacetime crashes over the past 40 years.
"Even one accident is too many," retired Air Marshal Anil Khosla said. "We need to learn from each incident and accident, and institute appropriate preventive measures."
"The IAF has a well-structured, proactive flight-safety organisation," Air Marshal Khosla added.
Past investigations have revealed problems such as ageing aircraft, human error (aircrew and maintenance), technical fault, and natural challenges in an operational environment.
"Overall, the safety record of the air force has improved manifold. The recent incidents are disconnected and don't show a pattern. But the technical problems that have come up must be resolved. The air force is conscious," retired Air Marshal Anil Chopra said.
"We lost a young pilot in training recently, because he couldn't eject safely. The air force has spoken of a technical problem. The court of inquiry will find out."
The accident rate of fighter jets in India has declined from a peak of 0.93 (2000-2005) to 0.27 (2017-2022) and 0.2 (2020-2024), according to a 2024-2025 report of the parliamentary standing committee on defence.
The 34 accidents involving the IAF's fighter jets over 2017-2022 were attributed to human error, technical defect, 'foreign object damage' (when something gets sucked into the aero engine) and bird strikes.
After 34 courts of inquiry, one incident -- a Mirage crash -- on October 21, 2021, remained under investigation. It is unclear if the result was inconclusive.
From 1991 to 2000, there were 283 accidents (42 per cent due to human error) and 4,418 incidents, in which 221 aircraft were 'totally destroyed' and 100 IAF pilots were killed.
This year's crashes have prompted a question: Should the IAF provide more simulation training, as is being done in the developed countries, to reduce accident risk?
"The air force has them," said Air Marshal Khosla, "but 100 per cent of the training cannot be done on simulators."
Air Marshal Chopra, who has flown the Jaguar and Mirage, in real environments and on simulation, said, "The global standard for pilots is to have a minimum of 150 to 200 hours in the air each year. You need it for combat readiness."
According to the committee's report, last year, the IAF had 238 basic, intermediate and advanced trainer aircraft, against a sanctioned strength of 368, which showed a deficiency of 130 aircraft.
A government official said, simulation is embedded in the IAF's training syllabus.
The number of fighter squadrons has fallen, partly because of the phasing out of the old MiG variants. Imports aside, India is slowly making fighter jets.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
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