Ready for swift response at short notice: IAF chief

The Indian Air Force is prepared to fight a war at a “short notice” and is fully geared up to respond to any security challenge to the country in the most befitting manner, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said on Sunday.

The IAF chief also said that the uncertainties in the present geo-political environment in the region may require the IAF to fight a “short” and “swift war”.

“We are prepared to fight at a short notice should the need arise,” he said while addressing an event at the air base here on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of the IAF.

The comments came amid China’s muscle flexing in Doklam and continued cross-border firing by Pakistan.

The IAF chief spoke on a variety of issues, including the possible security challenge facing the country, stating that the focus was to transform the IAF into a technology intensive force in the next few years to significantly enhance its overall prowess.

“I assure my countrymen that these men and women under my command are confident to take on any threat and fully prepared to undertake full spectrum of air operation and respond to any challenge in the most befitting manner,” he said, in the presence of Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat and top echelons of the IAF.

“We are in the process of acquiring new combat systems, upgrading and modernising our existing inventory of aircraft and weapons system with an aim to equip them with the latest avionics technology,” he said.