Second terror attack on fighter base in 14 years

NEW DELHI: The pre-dawn terrorist attack on a high-security Indian Air Force fighter base at Pathankot on Saturday represents the second such strike against an IAF facility in 14 years, prompting the security establishment to further tighten procedures to protect vital assets.

In the high-level meeting chaired by defence minister Manohar Parrikar, security of key defence installations were reviewed and it was decided to focus on more “integrated efforts” of the armed forces. The intelligence inputs and counter measures of the armed forces before the attack was also discussed. The IAF said the likely plan of the terrorists was to destroy fighter planes and helicopter gunships.

In a statement issued in the The base holds Russian-origin MIG-21 fighters and a mix of Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters.

Former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal PV Naik, described the fighter base near the India-pakistan border as a critical facility both during war-time and peace. “The base significantly increases the radius of operation of our fighters. Being the closest airbase to J&K it is also crucial to distribute aid during natural disasters,” he said

In October 2001, four terrorists armed with Kalashnikovs and grenades, had attempted to force their way into the IAF’S Awantipur fighter base near Srinagar in broad daylight. They were all killed.

Exactly three years later the IAF raised its elite Garud commando force to protect vital installations and to carry out counter-terror operations Terrorists have regularly carried out attacks on army installations in Jammu and Kashmir, but an attack on an IAF facility is rare

Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies, told HT, “The terrorists targeted a high-security airbase as they wanted to make a big impact My fear is they will go after soft tar gets next to cause more casualties.”

Strategic affairs expert Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) said, “It’s a failure of surveillance and border guarding. But once infiltration has taken place, you can keep search ing for the terrorists and not find them for 10 days in that kind of terrain. Still, security agencies were able to control the damage.”