New Air Force Base in Gujarat

According to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a new IAFfighter base is to be built at Deesa in Gujarat, located in Banaskantha district, adding to the existing air bases at Bhuj and Naliya in the Kutch area. This announcement comes soon after Air Chief BS Dhanoa declared that the IAF is prepared to fight a “short and swift war” at short notice and that the force has the capability of striking hard across the border “if the government decides”. The need for stronger presence of forces near the borders has been felt in view of the increasing economic activities on the Gujarat coastline including petroleum refineries and new ports coming up. On the northern frontiers with China, the IAF is in the process of expanding advanced landing grounds in Arunachal Pradesh.