PLA’s air activity along LAC under watch: IAF chief

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Sunday said that whenever China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) fighter jets come too close to the border in eastern Ladakh , the Indian Air Force immediately responds by scrambling its combat aircraft to tackle the situation.

The IAF chief’s remarks came on a day when the two sides conducted its 16th round of talks to resolve the ongoing border standoff on the Line of Actual Control.

“Chinese aircraft activity is closely monitored by us. Whenever we see Chinese aircraft or remotely piloted aircraft coming too close to the LAC, we take appropriate measures by scrambling or putting our aircraft on higher alert. This has deterred them quite a lot,” Chaudhari told news agency ANI.

The IAF chief also said that in a bid to bolster its combat capabilities through indigenisation, the air force is looking to induct Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and Light Combat Aircraft MK-1A and MK-2 along with the 114 multirole fighters under ‘ Make-in-India’ in the future.

The IAF chief said that the move will not only “strengthen the Air Force” but also bring a “huge boost” to the Indian Aviation industry as part of the Aatmanirbhar initiative of the Narendra Modi government.

“On the aircraft front, we are looking ahead for the AMCA and the LCA MK-1A and also the LCA MK-2 a few years from now. The case for 114 MRFA is also progressing well. With this, it will not only strengthen the Air Force but also bring a huge boost to the Indian Aviation industry,” the Air Chief Marshal said.’