‘CDS crash probe to be thorough’
Court of Inquiry to review chopper crash from all angles: Air Chief Marshal
THE COURT of Inquiry will explore every single angle on what could have gone wrong and examine all the material evidence, the Air Chief Marshal said.
Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari, on Saturday said the Court of Inquiry into the tragic helicopter crash that killed India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 13 others will be a thorough process and could take some more weeks.
He ruled out immediate corrective actions in operations based on findings of the preliminary investigation.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the combined graduation parade of the 208th Pilot and Ground Duty course at the Air Force Academy here, he said the Court of Inquiry will explore every single angle on what could have gone wrong and examine all the material evidence. “It could take a few more weeks to complete the enquiry, based on which the safety procedures will be reviewed,” the Air Chief Marshal said.
“Several events of the graduation parade were cut down as a mark of respect to the departed souls. I would like to convey my congratulations to all graduating officers for the immaculate turn out, precise drill movements, and an excellent parade,” he said, praising the graduating officers.
Stating that the nature of warfare was undergoing fundamental changes with new technology, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari called for building multi domain capabilities among the graduating officers.
“Our focus should not be restricted to the kinetic means of fighting a war, but also to space, cyber, information and many other domains of warfare. We are on the cusp of transformation into a highly potent air force with new inductions like Rafale, Apache, Chinook and a wide variety of SAGW systems.” The Air Chief Marshal added that the new threat arising from drone warfare is challenging. “We are procuring anti-drone systems from indegenous sources, encouraging startups and smaller players to come up with solutions,” he said.