An aerospace command will be established soon to exploit outer space and to control space-based assets, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi said.
GANDHINAGAR: An aerospace command will be established soon to exploit outer space and to control space-based assets, Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi said on Sunday.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is in the process of establishing this command by integrating its capabilities, he added.
Tyagi's remarks assume significance in the wake of reports that China successfully tested an anti-satellite missile.
"As the reach of the IAF is expanding, it has become extremely important that we exploit space and for it you need space assets," Tyagi, who is due to retire in March, said.
"We are an aerospace power having trans-oceanic reach. We have started training a core group of people for the aerospace command."
Tyagi, here to attend a station commanders' conference of the South Western Air Command, was non-committal on the exact timeframe for setting up the command.
"We will take help of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the aerospace command but it will have distinct features as it is a military command," Tyagi said in reply to a question on the role of the space agency in setting up the proposed formation.
The command will combine various components like satellites, radars, communications systems, and fighter aircraft and helicopters, IAF officers said.
This will be done while taking into consideration diverse needs like communications, reconnaissance and battlefield damage assessment as the reach of the IAF has increased, they said.
To a question on military development in China, he said, "They are ahead in some fields (in comparison to India) and in some fields we are ahead. That country has huge resources due to their rapid economic development".
He said with changing times the role of IAF has also changed. "IAF needs to transform itself to adapt to new requirements. Its basic role to protect the air space and borders of the country is still there but we have to protect our global interests. We plan to have strategic reach to meet out needs of new strategic boundaries.
"We have drawn the roadmap for the transformation of the IAF and we are on the right track," the Air Chief observed.
Tyagi further said the force's interaction on global scale has increased and the IAF has done joint air exercises with several countries in the recent times.
Speaking about accidents involving IAF aircraft, Tyagi said percentage of such incidents has considerably reduced.
"In relative terms, no other air force in the world has registered such a drop in number of air accidents."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}