Indian Air Force tests war readiness close to Pakistan border

Fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) pounded mock enemy bunkers close to the Pakistan border on Sunday in a symbolic show of air power at a time when the two nuclear-armed rivals are trying to improve relations.

The exercise was watched by military attaches from about 30 countries but not Pakistan and China, neighbours who would be keen to take a look at India's military firepower.

It follows the first official talks between India and Pakistan since the militant attacks in Mumbai in 2008.

The talks ended with an agreement to keep in touch, signalling relations remain fraught despite a desire to reopen a dialogue that India suspended after the Mumbai killings.

"This is not just a firepower demonstration but a clear message about what the Indian Air Force is capable of," said Commodore Uday Bhaskar, a New Delhi-based strategic affairs expert. "It is a message to the neighbours."

Tensions between India and Pakistan are a problem by themselves but the stakes have risen further with their roles in the war in Afghanistan.

In Sunday's war games, planes including Sukhois and MiG 21s, roared through the sky, bombing simulated enemy targets including militant training camps and bunkers.

President Pratibha Patil and Defence Minister A.K. Antony watched as targets were hit with bombs and rockets, raising huge balls of fire and dust in the deserts of Pokhran, the site of India's nuclear testing facility.

Defence officials said the exercise would test the IAF's ability at precision bombing of militant camps, particularly those behind enemy lines.

India accuses Pakistan of letting militant groups use its territory to train and launch attacks on India, such as the Mumbai raid that killed 166 people.

IAF Fire Power Demonstration at Pokharan on 28th February 2010

In a first ever display of its precision strike capability by night, a mammoth fire power demonstration (FPD), codenamed ‘Vayu Shakti-2010’, showcasing the operational capabilities of IAF by day, dusk and night will be held at the sprawling Chandan Air-to-Ground Range, Pokharan on February 28.

The FPD will demonstrate the day and night employability of air power by frontline fighter aircraft of the IAF including Su-30 MKI, Mirage-2000, Jaguar, Mig-21 and Mig-29. The transport aircraft include AN-32, Embraer and IL-76, while Mi-17 1V and Mi-35 attack helicopters will constitute the rotary wing ingredients.

For the first time AWACS will be used to monitor the mammoth exercise while an unmanned aerial vehicle will stream live video images of the target destruction. In addition to the 65 aircraft participating from all IAF Commands, 30 standby aircraft in air and an equal number on ground will make it one of the biggest participation by IAF aircraft in any such FPD ever.

Mock radar sites, tanks, marshalling yards, terrorist camps, runway, BMP (infantry fighting vehicles), blast pens and convoys are among few of the targets that pilots will seek to destroy. Para-drop and troop insertion of Garud - IAF’s Special Forces to neutralize a terrorist camp will also be on display.

The other attractions will include aerobatics display by Surya Kirans and Sarang, display by IAF sky diving team - Akash Ganga and renditions by IAF Symphonic Orchestra.

The FPD is a collective display of skills and accuracy in weapon delivery by pilots at the end of their training year. The exercise also aids commanders and planners to gain better insight into the potential and deployment capabilities of aerial weapons.

IAF’s ALH Dhruv Crash-lands in Jaisalmer

An Advanced Light Helicopter 'Dhruv' of the Indian Air Force 
crash-landed yesterday in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district while rehearsing for the 'Vayu Shakti' air power show being held there today.
The helicopter was part of the Sarang Helicopter Display Team of the IAF and was rehearsing for tomorrow's air show, when the incident occurred, IAF officials said here.
"Both pilots are safe after they had to make a controlled crash-landing
due to loss of power in the chopper," they added. The IAF has ordered a Court of Inquiry to look into the reasons behind the incident, the
officials said.
In 2005, the entire ALH Dhruv fleet had been grounded for several months after a similar incident in Andhra Pradesh and the subsequent probe had found a fault with the tail rotor blades of the choppers.
On whether the display team comprising four ALH Dhruvs will take part in the air show tomorrow, for which the president and the defence minister are also coming, they said, "Sarang's participation is not yet cancelled."
This is the fifth incident involving the helicopter since 2004 when one
of the choppers being operated by the Royal Nepal Army suffered a hard landing. In October 2009, an ALH Dhruv of the Ecuadorian Air Force crashed during display manoeuvres at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport there.
After the formation of Sarang team in 2003, this is the second accident
involving its Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)-built Dhruv helicopters.In the first incident on February 2, 2007, one of the choppers crashed in Bangalore killing its co-pilot during rehearsals before the Aero India show.
All the three Services along with the state governments operate the
helicopter and it has been exported to various countries including
Nepal, Ecuador, Mauritius, Maldives and Israel.

Pilot Killed in MIG-27 Crash

In yet another crash in IAF, a MiG-27 fighter went down near
Siliguri in West Bengal on Tuesday afternoon, killing the pilot, Wing Commander Aswal.
The MiG-27 is a `swing wing' aircraft and the over 100 of them in IAF
combat fleet were hardly flown in 2005-2006 after it was found that
their R-29 engines were causing a large number of accidents.
With the MiG-27 fleet undergoing an upgrade since then, IAF actually
plans to operate these fighters well into the next decade, even though
they are ageing, because they constitute an important element of its
strike fleet.
The number of IAF fighter squadrons, of course, is itself down to just
32-33 from even the `authorised strength' of 39.5 squadrons. IAF will
achieve its desired squadron strength of 42 only after 2020.
From 1971-72 to 2003-04, IAF's consolidated average rate stood at 1.09
accidents per 10,000 hours of flying, roughly translating into the loss
of 23 aircraft and the death of 10-14 pilots every year.
The crash rate did come down dramatically to around 0.27 accidents per
10,000 hours of flying, with an over 50% reduction in crashes after
2003-04. But the number of crashes seem to be going up once again now.
The aging MiG variants, which constitute the bulk of India's combat
fleet, have, of course, been the main culprits. The `highly-demanding'
MiG-21s, in particular, have a horrifying track-record.
Of the 793 single-engined MiG-21s inducted into IAF since 1963, well
over 330 have been lost in accidents. The problem has been compounded by
shoddy maintenance, poor quality control of spares and inadequate
training to rookie pilots.