“We are ready and very well positioned to take on China and there is no scenario where they can get the better of us”, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal (ACM) RKS Bhadauria asserted on Monday.
“Next three months will depend on how talks progress. Current progress is slow, what we see is effort to dig in for the winter... We are talking action accordingly. Our further action will depend on the ground realities,” ACM Bhadauria said at the annual press conference ahead of the Air Force Day.
‘Not underestimating adversary’
He, however, noted that they were not underestimating the adversary. “Their strength lies in surface-to-air systems they have put up in the area. They have long missile systems. We cater to those in our matrix... We can take on that threat”.
On deployment in Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), he said Ladakh is a small part of the Air Force’s deployment. “We have deployed to all relevant areas. We are firmly and strongly deployed to take on any scenarios,” he stated.
It was not correct to say that they were surprised by Chinese actions. “We realised what the Chinese were doing in May. It is not correct to say we were surprised”. It showed our ability to respond and “there was no delay,” he said.
On Chinese air activity along the LAC, he said there was no step up in deployments after the initial developments. “It has remained largely the same.”
Global support to India
To questions on global support to India in the ongoing stand-off and possible cooperation with the U.S., ACM Bhadauria observed that they made their plans on their own. “We have to fight our own wars.”
The Air Force has operationalised the recently acquired Rafale jets, Chinook and Apache helicopters in record time. “Next three years, we will see our Rafale and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1 squadrons in full strength,” he stated.
The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) would be the mainstay of Air Force in the next decade or so, he added.