The Indian Army and IAF have ramped up their operations along the LAC after the Galwan incident
Amid tensions with China, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is carrying out night time combat air patrols over the Eastern Ladakh sector. The IAF MiG-29 fighter aircraft and Sukhoi-30MKI, along with the Apache attack helicopter and Chinook heavy-lift helicopters conducted night sorties at the forward bases near India-China border to keep an eye over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the aftermath of the Galwan Valley clashes between Indian and the Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh last month, said reports on Tuesday.
Notwithstanding the strong winds and the chilling weather, the ground crew and pilots are flying using even very small windows when the wind speed is low.
“Night operations have an inherent element of surprise. The IAF is fully trained and ready to undertake the entire spectrum of operations in any environment with help of modern platforms and motivated personnel,” Group Captain A Rathi, a senior fighter pilot at a Forward Air Base near India-China border, was quoted as saying.
The pilots of the Apache choppers could be seen flying with their night vision goggles which allows them to navigate through the mountains around the airbase and the dark night. The strong late evening winds at the airbase and the weather warning almost led to calling off the night sorties but around 10 PM everyone was back to their respective aircraft as the wind speed receded.
Soon after, the mighty Chinook choppers came out on the runway and hovered for some time adjusting to the wind speeds before taking off towards the eastern parts of Ladakh.
The Chinook with its high tech gadgets and navigation aids is fully ready for 24x7 operations and played a big role in transferring troops to the Line of Actual Control from rear locations.
Around 2300 hours, the late-night fighter aircraft operations started with the thundering noise of take-off of MiG-29 fighters which have been at the forefront of high-tempo operations after the hostilities broke out on the LAC. With its after-burners employed, the high-speed take-off roared over the high mountains around the airbase.
Around the same time when the MiG-29s were taking off from the forward airbase, multiple air bases in the northern sector were activated from where fighter including the Mirage-2000, Su-30MKI, and Jaguars took off towards different locations along the Line of Actual Control from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
"The motivation level of troops at the airbase is very high. The morale is very high like our motto Nabha Sparsham Deeptam (Touch the Sky with Glory)," Warrant Officer P Sharma was quoted as saying by news agency ANI, "The entire base with its flurry of activities is playing a crucial role in enhancing the combat preparedness of the country along the China border."
A Flight Lieutenant also told the news agency that this base plays a very important role in undertaking operations in this area. It is cleared for all contingencies and all combat and support operations to be undertaken in this area.
The officer had stated that in view of the operations along the borders with China after the clash in the Galwan valley and the tensions at the border, "Air Power will play an important role in this area in both combat and support roles. We have all the resources in terms of men and equipment to meet all the challenges."
"The Indian Air Force is ready in all aspects to undertake all operational talks and providing the requisite support for all military operations," the Wing Commander had added.
The Indian Army and IAF have ramped up their operations along the LAC after the Galwan incident and the focus shifted back on LAC after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise visit to Ladakh recently.
The IAF has also pressed into service a fleet of C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft as well as C-130J Super Hercules in transporting heavy military equipment and weaponry to several forward bases to further ramp up India's military preparedness in the region.
The IAF is also using its Ilyushin-76 fleet to transport troops to various areas along the Line of Actual Control, the 3,500 km de-facto border between India and China, news agency PTI quoted Defence sources as saying.
The sources said that the Air Force has already moved a sizeable number of its frontline Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 aircraft to several key airbases including Leh and Srinagar.
Meanwhile, India and China have agreed that it was necessary to ensure at the earliest the complete disengagement of the troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and de-escalation from India-China border areas for full restoration of peace and tranquillity.
The Special Representatives of India and China on the Boundary Question -- Ajit Doval and Wang Yi--- had a 'frank and in-depth exchange' telephone conversation on Sunday during which they agreed that both sides should complete the ongoing disengagement process along the LAC expeditiously, according to a statement by Ministry of External Affairs released on Monday.
They re-affirmed that both sides should strictly respect and observe the LAC and should not take any unilateral action to alter the status quo and work together to avoid any incident in the future that could disturb peace and tranquillity in border areas.
Sources said that the Chinese have started to withdraw their troops and tents in Galwan valley by two kilometers and in the next few days, the disengagement process will begin in other friction points including PP-14, PP-15, Hot Springs, and Finger area.
The Chinese Army has moved back tents, vehicles, and troops by 1-2 kilometers from locations where disengagement was agreed upon at Corps Commander-level talks, Indian Army sources said on Monday.
India has also moved 1-2 Km from the location. Chinese heavy armoured vehicles are still present in the depth areas in the Galwan river area.
The situation at the India-China border became tense after 20 Indian soldiers lost their lives in a violent face-off in the Galwan valley on June 15-16 when Chinese troops attempted to unilaterally change the status quo during the de-escalation.
(With inputs from ANI)
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 "Photo: ANI")
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