India Opens New Airbase on Chinese Border as Next Generation Fighter Plans Solidify

The Indian Air Force has opened a new airbase in the Ladakh region, the Mudh-Nyoma Air Force Station, which is located just 23 kilometres from internationally recognised Chinese territory. The $25 million facility was approved for construction in 2023, and has a runway over 2300 metres long, allowing it to handle not only fighter aircraft, but also large transports such as the Russian-supplied Il-76. The facility’s location has drawn criticism due to its potential high vulnerability to Chines artillery assets, with its extreme proximity to Chinese ground forces potentially being a major vulnerability. The base’s opening had occurred at a time of improving relations between Delhi and Beijing, as escalating Western efforts at economic coercion aimed at India have pressed it to improve ties with its neighbour. 

The Indian fighter fleet is increasingly considered at risk of total obsolesce against that of neighbouring China, as the East Asian state has emerged as a world leader in its combat aviation capabilities. China is today the world’s only country serially producing two separate types of fifth generation fighter, the J-20 and J-35, while its sixth generation fighter programs appear years ahead of those of the United States. The service entry of the first Chinese sixth generation fighters in the early 2030s will leave the Indian fighter fleet further behind, with the country fielding only third and fourth generation fighter types. Higher end Chinese fourth generation fighters such as the J-16 already retain very considerable advantages over their Indian counterpart such as the Rafale and Su-30MKI, most notably in their endurances, weaponry and the power of their sensors. The reported shootdown of one to four Rafale fighters by Pakistan Air Force J-10C lightweight fourth generation fighters supplied by China served to illustrate these trends.

Facing an increasingly unfavourable balance of power in the air against both China and Pakistan, the Indian Defence Ministry has shown a growing interest in procuring Su-57 fifth generation fighters from Russia. The Indian government was reported in July to have informed U.S. officials that it was not interested in procuring the F-35 fighter, which left the Su-57 as effectively the country’s only near term option to field fifth generation fighters. Russia in May made an unprecedented offer to provide full access to the fighter’s source code as part of a large license production deal, with Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh having confirmed that procurements are under consideration. Much like India’s S-400 long range air defence systems, which have been prioritised for deployments near the country’s borders with China and Pakistan, it is likely that Su-57s will also be stationed near the Chinese border, including possibly at Mudh-Nyoma Air Force Station, with the fighter’s high suitability for high altitude takeoffs making it potentially optimal for such a location.