'It is pure luck that we did not have any body bags, otherwise things could have been nasty.'
We have a generation of youth in our country with fire in their bellies and the 'tamanna' to emulate the Indian soldier. Such is the image that has been created by our soldiers over time. The proposal for civilians into the Military fray for a short stint must be considered favourably keeping the national interests foremost, says Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
There is no immediate comment from the Indian Air Force on the findings of the probe.
Intermittent blasts and exchange of fire to neutralise two more terrorists continued on Sunday night at Air Force Station in Pathankot, Punjab where four terrorists were killed, seven security men lost their lives and 17 persons were injured in the over 40-hour-long operation.
'My brave JCO managed to get to the gun, sit on top of the dead man and fired away at the attacking aircraft till they melted away into the darkness.'
Twenty one years ago, the Indian Army and Indian Air Force fought a bloody and bitter war to evict Pakistani intruders from the icy heights in Kargil. Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd) salutes the lesser known heroes of the Kargil War.
'Their air force is no match to ours!'
Former IAF officer R Gopalaswami said the re-entry temperature would have been so high that the bodies of the astronauts would have been vaporised before their brains would have realised it.
The success of the flight has sent the aspirations of the defence establishment soaring with plans being made to design a Medium Combat Aircraft.
'No aeroplane in the world has been designed to switch off its engines above 14,500 feet.' 'Thanks to a lot of practice, we were able to execute a flawless landing at DBO at 0900 hours on 31st May, creating history.'
Instead of lowering the altitude, the pilot responded by saying that he was satisfied. When only 10 nautical miles were left till the airport, the plane was at an altitude of 7,000 feet instead of 3,000 feet, it said. The ATC issued a second warning to the pilot to lower the plane's altitude. However, the pilot responded again by stating that he was satisfied and would handle the situation, saying he was ready for landing, the report said.
'I am sure our DRDO will surely be on the job towards building similar capability to counter the threat posed by this Chinese helicopter,' observes Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
Ninety-seven people, including nine children, were killed and two passengers miraculously survived the fiery crash when the PIA flight PK-8303 with 99 travellers on board plunged into a densely populated residential area near the airport here.
The sortie had to be executed in good weather and in sub-zero temperatures, which meant it was to be accomplished by mid or third week in May before the earth heated up and the monsoon clouds made things difficult.
Dad had sneaked into East Pakistan (present day Bangladesh) well before the war had started for reconnaissance of the terrain on the other side. He had disguised himself as a driver of a truck laden with goods and traveled into East Pakistan to be received by the underground fighters of the Mukti Bahini.
'Searching for the target with bare eyes was like searching for the needle in the haystack, but due to the technology, we had a clear picture of the seven tents perched against the rocky background on our scopes.'
Squadron Leader Meet Kumar died in the accident. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered.
IAF officers say they are keen to serve justice quickly and make an example of those found guilty of operational lapses.
"Our house is gone, household goods have perished and all our animals killed. We did not have anything to eat," said Chamail Singh of Rajouri district while showering praise on Indian Air Force for air-dropping food items and other relief material.
The mortal remains of six soldiers martyred in Manipur last week belonging to Jammu region of the state were cremated with full military and state honours on Sunday.
A nine day Indo-Russian joint air force exercise concluded at the Halwara Air Force Station in Punjab that saw fighter, helicopter and missile crew of the two countries operating together.
I witnessed Abhinandan Varthaman shooting Pakistan's F-16, says Yudh Seva medal awardee Minty Agarwal
Air Commodore J S Dhamoon, who was commanding the Pathankot air force base when it was attacked by heavily armed terrorists last year, has taken pre-mature retirement from service.
The IAF received a total of 13 awards including five Yudh Seva Medals and seven Vayu Sena Medal.
With Lok Sabha elections just months away, BJP on Tuesday launched a drive to collect donations for "Modi for PM fund" from the people and also inducted several former IITians into the party to give a fillip to its campaign.
'I realised what a great leader he was by the way he took decisions to undertake the most-risky of missions.'
As the last journey of the five jawans martyred in the Pakistani attack in Poonch began from Jammu, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh on Wednesday laid wreaths on their bodies.
Pliot error is understood to have been found as the reason behind the crash of Indian Air Force's C-130J Super Hercules aircraft in March in which five service personnel, including four officers, were killed near Gwalior.
'It is time we Indians stop our internal bickering and present a united front to Chinese machinations,' advises Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
A panel within the ministry is likely to re-look into the issue that has been left pending for so many years, ministry sources said on Friday.
Defence sources said the issue is likely to be solved within a week.
'I had heard that it was a paradise... but when I first lay my eyes on it, it wasn't what I had pictured.' 'We had known of the devastation, but we didn't know the true extent of it.'
'The Indian Navy has sufficient combat power in areas of interest to India that can quickly scale up operations if the need arises.' 'This includes all the choke points leading into the Indian Ocean as also areas within.'
'China would rather tie us down; and bleed us as much as it can so that we aren't able to lift our heads to face them.'
The operation to fully sanitise the Pathankot Air base, which was attacked by six terrorists last Saturday, is "close to completion" with the personnel of the National Security Guard, the army and the Garud commandos of Indian Air Force undertaking the task on the sprawling complex.
Theresa May's visit to a Bengaluru aerospace systems supplier is seen as the UK's strategy to pursue new defence deals.
'What has changed is the desperation of Pakistan proxies and the separatists in their failure to foment violence and civilian casualties in Kashmir.'
It was Soni Somarajan's biggest dream -- to see himself as a proud member of the Indian Armed Forces. When Life brutally shattered that dream, he wove a new one.
'The Chinese navy is large and expanding both in numbers and capability by the day.' 'India too must take measures to safeguard its own interests, now and in the future.'
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