Forces Ready To Meet Dragon Challenge

Amid the China stand-off, the air base in Ladakh is active for any eventuality

- Manjeet Negi

Indian Air Force fighter aircraft, including the Sukhoi-30 and the MiG-29, have been flying in combat formations regularly from the airbase near the border with China.

When India Today TV’s Deputy Editor, Manjeet Negi, visited the forward airbase, transport aircraft including the American C17 and the C-130J along with their Russian counterparts — the Ilyushin-76 and the Antonov-32 — could be seen. The transport planes are being used to ferry troops and equipment from far away locations to be deployed on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

Apaches are prominent as they carry out regular sorties with their only mandate of combat role in the Eastern Ladakh sector. The American origin attack chopper along with its heavy-lift counterpart Chinook have played an important role in the area after the Chinese Army started building up along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh in May this year.