IAF drill to hone combat readiness ends

With the objective to hone its combat readiness to fight a two-front war with Pakistan and China, the IAF flew more than 11,000 sorties during the 15-day exercise ‘Gaganshakti’. Nearly 1,100 aircraft took part in the pan-India exercise ending Monday simulating realistic battlefield scenario to test the capability to shift forces from one border to another in a matter of hours.

The focus was on flexibility in conducting operations in a fast changing “intense battle” and carrying out more sorties with limited number of aircraft to maintain the tempo of operations. In fact, the fighter jets including Jaguars, SU-30s, MIG-29s, MIG-21s, Mirage-2000 and Tejas light combat aircraft(LCA) carried out 9,000 sorties out of the total 11,000 sorties. Over 1,400 officers and 14,000 of the IAF besides a sizable number of troops of the Army and Navy also took part in the exercise. The Navy also deployed its warships in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea simulating battle scenes for the IAF to conduct its missions.

Giving these details, sources said here on Tuesday the stress was on faster turnaround of aircraft through quicker maintenance as generally happens in war time to ensure maximisation of resources. For instance, the indigenously designed and manufactured Tejas flew six sorties per day simulating ground attack and strike roles, they said.

Elaborating upon the intensity of the exercise, they said the IAF generally conducts these many sorties in a month.  Moreover, all types of fighter jets flew relentlessly for three consecutive days during the exercise flying day and night sorties. This was done to test the logistical “stamina” in terms of maintenance and repairing an aircraft including seamless supply spares, sources said.

Claiming that more than 80 per cent serviceability of fighter jets was achieved during the exercise, they said the more than seven months of planning had gone into it.  Specialist teams of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) were stationed on some key bases to ensure smooth supply of critical spares, sources said.

On two-front war, the IAF practised land battles in with the help of the Army besides aerial combat in two phases.  While the first phase focused on border with Pakistan, the second phase comprised simulated offensive and defensive aerial drills near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) facing China, they said. 

Moreover, nearly all the advanced landing grounds from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh were activated with heavy lift C-17s and IL-76 transport planes landing and taking off simulating round the clock logistical chain for the frontline troops.  Many civil airfields were also used for combat operations, they said, adding civil aircraft and trains were deployed for ferrying troops and equipment for rapid transfer from one border to another.

Apart from aerial combat, the IAF also practised special missions behind the enemy lines by air dropping Special Forces troops in all kinds of weather and diverse conditions including sea, deserts and jungles.  It was aimed at enhancing synergy between the three Services, they said adding the deep strike planes also flew sorties of more than 1,000 km without mid air refueling in high seas.  The Navy deployed its long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft to identify the target and enable the IAF jets to hit them.

Nearly 300 umpires were overseeing the various operations carried out during ‘Gaganshakti’ and they will submit their report within a week, officials said.