英国与1950年代印度的空军建设——以英印战斗机交易为核心

United Kingdom and Development of Indian Air Force in 1950s——Focusing on Anglo-Indian Fighter Trade

英国在印度独立后的空军建设进程中发挥了不可忽视的作用。除了派出军官管理和训练印度空军之外,供应战斗机和零配件是英国维持影响力最重要的方式。英国阻止印度购买苏式伊尔-28轰炸机与英印“猎人”战斗机交易两个案例表明,它对印度空军的装备供应政策,既有阻遏苏联的冷战动机,也有推动武器出口、确保印度空军对英制装备和技术依赖的帝国利益考量,凸显英国南亚政策中帝国意识与冷战意识交织的特点。

The United Kingdom played an important role in the development process of India’s Air Force after the latter gained independence.Besides sending officers to administrate and train the Indian Air Force,the UK maintained its influence by supplying fighter jets and spare parts.The two cases of Britain stopping India from buying the Soviet-made IL-28 bombers and the Anglo-Indian Hunter fighters indicated that the UK’s arms supply policy to Indian Air Force aimed not only to contain Soviet Union,but also to promote its own arms export as well as to ensure Indian Air Force’s dependence on British equipment and technology,reflecting the characteristics of imperial consciousness in combination with Cold War motivation in Britain’s South Asia policy.