IAF fine tunes new air tactics and fighting concepts

NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force has finalized plans to purchase new attack and heavy lift utility helicopters as part of measures to bolster air surveillance and air to ground fighting capabilities in the Himalayas.

As part of these new measures, IAF has procured and put sensors on board Unmanned aerial vehicles as well as its fixed wing assets and has been training hard on the concepts of waging battle from stand-off distances.

"Post Kargil operations, war manouvres are being undertaken regularly to validate new concepts in precision attacks, waging aerial campaigns from stand off distance for a more effecitve interdiction in military campaigns in the Mountains," Air Marshal PS Ahulwalia, Commanding the Air Forces crucial Western air command told on Monday.
   
Western air command, which looks after the country's aerial defence against the Sino-Indian and Indo-Pak border in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, recently conducted a big aerial war games to validate these new concepts, Ahluwalia said.

Nearly 120 to 130 frontline fighters of Air Force, including various versions of the Mig's, Sukhoi's and UAV's took part in the weeklong manouvres conducted both over the Himalayas and crucial northern plains, he said.