RANSFORMING SEAMLESSLY FROM AIR-RELATED" TO “SPACE- RELATED“

Indian Air Force is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and examining the lessons arising out of the conflict.

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The Indian threat scenario and the manner in which wars may be fought in the subcontinent is very different from what is happening between Russia and Ukraine, says Air Chief Marshal VIVEK RAM CHAUDHARI in this exclusive one-on-one with Geopolitics.

How do you explain the gradual evolution of the Indian Air Force from being a tactical force to a strategic force, from being defence-oriented to the one aiming at air domination, from having the capability of meeting a single threat at one time to fight a two front war simultaneously, from protecting territorial assets to guarding India’s space assets?

The transition of the Indian Air Force from having been a tactical force to a strategic one is a natural progression that is a product of the overall growth of the country. Our threat landscape has also evolved with the growth of the country. Today we are seeing increasingly collusive potential scenarios take shape which adds a new dimension to the problem. Of the three services, the IAF would be the one most heavily committed to swing operations’ between fronts in the Northern Sector if needed. We have evolved specific plans for such contingencies and optimised our posture accordingly. Inductions of assets has been done with this in mind, and a time bound plan for making good deficiencies has also been put in place. The IAF in keeping with national responsibilities has also expanded its horizons and has devoted increasing attention to the protection of India’s territorial assets.