Explained: How Deesa airbase in Gujarat will help thwart the threat from Pakistan

India is getting a new airbase, the fifth in Gujarat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the project at Deesa in the Banaskantha district near the border with Pakistan on Wednesday.

Describing it as an effective centre for security, he said that the upcoming airbase will be able to give a better response to threats from the country’s west. “The new airfield at Deesa is an achievement with regards to national security and development of the region. The international border is just 130 km away. If our forces, especially the Air Force, are in Deesa, we will be able to respond in a much better way to any challenge on the western border,” he said.

What we know about the airbase

Spread over an area of 4,519 acres and 130 km from the Indo-Pak border, Deesa is a greenfield air base. It is expected to be operational by 2024. The project will be developed in two phases and will cost Rs 1000 crore.

While the land was acquired in 1983, the Centre gave a go-ahead to construct a full-fledged air base only in the year 2020. The Vajpayee government had given in-principal approval to the Indian Air Force in 2000. However, under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government put the development plan was stalled.

The project was revived by PM Modi. The massive floods in Banaskantha in 2017 threw the spotlight on the airbase once again.

Amid the calamity, the Centre reached out to the IAF to provide relief to affected people. But the Air Force found relief operations to be difficult because of poor weather. Having no airfield nearby proved to be a major deterrent. Then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman played a crucial role in getting approval for the airbase along with the funds, reports Hindustan Times.

At the Defence Expo 2022, the PM said, “When I was the chief minister, I used to constantly make efforts to build it (the Deesa airbase). I explained the importance of this airfield to the then-government (UPA). But nothing happened for 14 years.”

“They made such question marks on the files that even after I came there (in government), it took time to install the right things, the right way,” he added.

Phase 1 of the project will see the construction of the main runway, the taxi tracks, and the fighter squadron dispersal area. Phase 2 will take care of the technical infrastructure and accommodation, according to a report by India Today.

Making borders more secure

The Deesa airbase will boost the IAF’s offensive capability. It will help India take on enemy aircraft taking off from Pakistan Hyderabad’s Mirpur Khas airbase and Shahbaz F-16 airbase in Jacobabad. In case of a conflict, it will make cities across the border like Karachi, Sukkur and Hyderabad vulnerable, Hindustan Times reports.

It can be used to retaliate against Pakistan in case of a terror attack in Gujarat and along the southwest region and provide support to land offensive, the report says.

The IAF will reportedly deploy its fighters Tejas and MiG-29 at the airbase. This will help intercept enemy aircraft.

The Deesa airbase will come under the South Western Air Command. It will also help in improving surveillance in and around the region. In 2011, Air Marshal AK Gogoi after assuming charge as the new Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of SWAC stressed the need for better surveillance in Gujarat. He told The Indian Express, “Sir Creek is an area we need to always look at because it’s disputed. The lines are not clearly drawn.”

Gujarat has four operational air bases in Vadodara, Jamnagar, Bhuj and Naliya in the Kutch district.

With inputs from agencies

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