IAF chief visits forward airbases
NEW DELHI : Two days after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley of Ladakh region, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria made a low-key visit to Ladakh to review the Indian Air Force’s preparedness in the sensitive sector where the IAF is operating its fighter jets and new attack and heavy-lift helicopters, people familiar with the development said on Friday, on condition of anonymity.
NEW DELHI: Two days after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria made a low-key visit to Ladakh to review the Indian Air Force’s preparedness in the sensitive sector where the IAF is operating its fighter jets and new attack and heavy-lift helicopters, people familiar with the development said on Friday, on condition of anonymity.
Apart from Sukhoi-30s and upgraded MiG-29 fighter jets, the IAF is operating Apache AH-64E attack helicopters and CH-47F (I) Chinook multi-mission helicopters -- both imported from the United States -- in the sector that has been the focus of current border tensions with China, said one of the persons cited above.
The air force chief visited forward airbases -- Leh on Wednesday and Srinagar on Thursday -at a time of increased Chinese military activity across the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC) where Indian and Chinese troops have been caught in a tense confrontation for over seven weeks.
“In these times of heightened alert, the movement of air force assets is to be expected and hence basing of fighters and helicopters upfront is normal and should not lead to any extreme deductions,” said Air Vice Marshal (retd) Manmohan Bahadur, additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.
The Chinese deployment in its so-called “depth areas” or areas within its side of the LAC includes more than 8,000 troops, tanks, artillery guns, fighter bombers, rocket forces and air defence radars. Satellite imagery has revealed a Chinese buildup in the Galwan Valley and fresh inputs also suggest heightened Chinese activity in the Finger Area (a cluster of strategic features) near Pangong Tso.
New Chinese positions and observation posts have come up in this crucial area in the last six to seven weeks, said the second person cited above.
“The Finger Area is sensitive and the armies need to disengage there,” said lieutenant general (retd) Vinod Bhatia, a former director general of military operations.
He said both sides had hardened their positions along the LAC but talks were on to resolve the border row.