Beyond fighter jets: What India needs to prepare for the wars of tomorrow

India’s airpower debate is no longer simply about how many fighter jets the country needs. It is about what those aircraft can achieve in skies increasingly threatened by long-range missiles, drones and sophisticated air defences. In a conversation with Hindustan Times Senior Anchor Aayesha Varma on Point Blank, Executive Editor Shishir Gupta argued that India must look beyond fleet numbers. More fighters remain necessary, but they must form part of a wider military capability combining unmanned systems, longer-range weapons and layered defences. The central objective is deterrence: preventing an adversary from attacking by making the likely costs unacceptably high. More…