'Overnight, the Chetak had new markings and thereafter flew on the call sign, Echo-Bravo-Romeo.' 'By all accounts, this was the first aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force.'
Besides his strategic and tactical acumen, it was his amazing personality, quick wit and ability to remain unflustered under any circumstances that stood him apart from almost any leader one has read about or known, recalls Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Western Air Command chief Air Marshal N A K Browne told media-persons in New Delhi on Friday that different types of radars would be put in place along the 667-km LAC with China, the air defence of which is the WAC's responsibility. "The Air Force is keenly examining the option of special type of radars, which we call the mountain radars and we are also looking at Low Level Light Weight Radars.
India will upgrade Indian Air Force's Nyoma advanced landing ground in Ladakh into a full-fledged air base closer to the borders with China to deploy its top-notch fighter jets, including the Sukhois there.
The Strategic Forces Command responsible for the nuclear arsenal of the country will be headed by Air Marshal KJ Mathews, who will take over from Lieutenant General Balraj Singh.
The lone survivor in the IAF helicopter crash that killed Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, and 12 others, and initially admitted to a hospital at Wellington in the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, was shifted to Bengaluru for higher treatment on Thursday, official sources said.
"Over the period of time after 26/11, we saw a gradual build up of Pakistan Air Force across the area of Western Air Command area of responsibility, close to over 75 per cent," IAF's Vice Chief-Designate Air Marshal P K Barbora told media-persons in New Delhi.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is likely to call another high-level meeting later today, they added.
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday made it clear that the Indian Air Force is not opposed to the tri-services theaterisation plan but asserted that the doctrinal aspects of the force should not be compromised by the proposed structures.
"Though falling squadron strength is a cause of worry," Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command Air Marshal P S Ahluwalia said that IAF had the resources and platforms to get the better of any threat from the western sector.
Conceding that people in the bordering areas do move into the neighbouring nation's territory at times, he termed it a common phenomenon on borders and said, "There is no danger from such movement."
During the meeting, the prime minister is understood to have taken stock of the situation along the Line of Control and International Border.
Singapore to use IAF station to train personnel
As Chinese Premier Li Keqiang wrapped up his "impressive" visit to Pakistan to firm up their economic and military ties, a Pakistan official said "numerous countries" are interested in obtaining JF-17 Thunder fighter jet jointly developed by both the countries.
By sensitising the entire nation of this unprovoked incursion and the resultant mood of anger among Indians, the media had set into motion rapid official and diplomatic developments not only in New Delhi but also in Beijing, writes Air Marshal (retd) Bhushan Gokhale.
'The moment the Army approved the script, they told us that they will give their full support and asked us for our full dedication.'
Tezpur is the last of the IAF bases in the country to phase out the MiG 21.
IAF is focused on Rafale; argues the fifth generation fighter aircraft would not meet Indian expectations
Slamming China for objecting to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, the Indian Air Force on Monday said it does not 'fear' the Chinese military and that the neighbour should not have any problem with it upgrading airstrips in the North-East.
An induction ceremony was organised in the hangar of the Tezpur airbase in Assam in the presence of Eastern Air Commander Air Marshal S K Bhan, sources in IAF headquarters in New Delhi said.
India is just a step closer to having women as permanent commissioned officers in its armed forces, with the tri-services giving their consent to a proposal from the government in this regard.The government's decision on the matter was likely to come in a month or two, and from around 2013 onwards the country's military academies would start enrolling women as officers on permanent commission.
The synergised demonstration of indigenous defence capabilities during 'Bharat Shakti' is a "testimony to its commitment towards modernisation through indigenisation," the sources said.
Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retired) will assume charge as India's new Chief of Defence Staff on Friday, an appointment that is expected to bring the focus back on the implementation of the ambitious theaterisation drive to bring synergy among the three services.
The delivery of the jets -- capable of carrying a range of potent weapons and missiles -- is scheduled to begin from September next year.
'The central concern in the Services HQ over the last 40 years or so has been a frustrating lack of appropriate and timely government response to many crucial military issues, often till these turn into a full blown crisis.' Air Marshal Satish Inamdar (retd) discusses the many challenges and issues confronting India's defence establishment in the light of the recent Naresh Chandra report.
Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, during the hearing on September 13 remarked that it was 'astonishing that the notification for the establishment of the ISI's political cell could not be found, while the cell had been active for decades'.
Five Australian soldiers were killed in two separate incidents in the past 24 hours in Afghanistan -- including three in an "insider attack" -- marking the country's highest combat toll since the Vietnam War. Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Mark Binskin said two Australian soldiers had been killed in a US Black Hawk crash in Afghanistan on Thursday.
But could the information in these declassified reports just be tales of fantasy?
Interacting with visiting reporters recently at the command's headquarters in Shillong, Barbora, the first officer from the northeast to head an IAF command, recollected the Chinese agression in the north-east in 1962.
Of the 156 choppers, 66 would be inducted by the Indian Air Force while the rest 90 would be acquired by the Indian Army.
Indian Air Force chief Air Marshal S P Tyagi on Monday denied that private airliners were luring away IAF pilots by offering them attractive salaries.\n\n
Out of the 13 people killed in the IAF helicopter crash near Coonoor on Wednesday, the mortal remains of only Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and Brig LS Lidder could be identified, officials said on Thursday.
'I realised what a great leader he was by the way he took decisions to undertake the most-risky of missions.'
Former ruler Ayub Khan launched a secret operation in 1965 to send infiltrators into Jammu and Kashmir.
The Indian Air Force's move comes over a year after the Navy made changes in its ensign shedding its colonial past.
"In a few years time, we might see this change coming in with certain pre-conditions that till this age we request you to be happy, be married, but no offsprings," IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal P K Barbora told media-persons in New Delhi."After 13-14 years of service, investments made on fighter pilots are actually recovered by the government," he said.
Gen Pande was to retire from service on May 31.
Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar will head the Strategic Forces Command thereby ending the monopoly hitherto of the Indian Air Force over the tri-service defence arm
The unstated aim of a well-publicised airlift operation of this kind is to demonstrate India's ability to rapidly move troops and equipment over long distances.
Activation of this advanced landing ground would not only improve the response time for various operational situations but also the efficacy of the air operations in the eastern frontier.
