Asked about Pakistan often brandishing its tactical nuclear weapons as an effective counter to India's conventional military superiority and the "Cold Start" strategy, he said "IAF has the capability to locate, fix and strike targets across the border. "The IAF chief also pointed to India's stated nuclear doctrine that clearly holds that an adversary's first strike -- by a strategic or even a smaller tactical nuclear weapon -- will invite massive retaliatory strikes designed to inflict unacceptable damage.IAF also has "adequate capability" to handle China's numerically-superior air force. "Yes, we need a strength of 42 squadrons to carry out full-spectrum operations in a two-front scenario. But it does not mean we are not capable of fighting a two-front (war) as we speak. The American F-16 ( Lockheed Martin ) and the Swedish Gripen-E (Saab) are in the fray for this project, which will cost an estimated Rs 100,000 crore ($15.4 billion).

Source: Times of India October 05, 2017 15:44 UTC