IAF Role In Eastern Ladakh In The Upcoming Winter – Free PDF Download

Introduction

• With a resolution to the standoff on the LAC still elusive, the Indian Army is preparing for extended deployment of troops in the region through the winter months.
• This leaves the IAF with a key role in providing support to the troops.
• What are the challenges to meet in the harsh winter and tough terrain?

Can the IAF support the logistics of such a large force?

• One part of the logistics for the Army requires land transportation, which would have been planned for before winter sets in and the passes close.
• The IAF will be doing very urgent missions, for which it is well prepared with a very good transport fleet consisting of C-17 Globemasters, Il-76s, and many An-32s.

• If it comes to the crunch, the C-130 Super Hercules can also be used for logistics support, although these are meant for special operations.
• We also have Mi-17 helicopters and Cheetal light helicopters to cater to forward posts.
• In addition, the Chinook heavy-lift helicopters will be used for carrying bulky stores, either within the fuselage, or slung under it.

To pographical challenges of flying in Eastern Ladakh?

• The biggest challenge is the altitude of the two airfields of Leh and Thoise,
• But since we have been flying there for decades, the air crew are well aware of the peculiarities of these fields.

• The landing grounds at high altitude have their own challenges, which result in reduction of load-bearing capacity of the planes/choppers.
• Additionally, the air crew have to call upon their skills to navigate the hills and land on the small, matchbox-like helipads — there is just no place on these hills to make bigger ones!

Additional challenges due to winter

• Bad weather that accompanies the western disturbances that strike northern India in the winter months is a challenge, as it reduces visibility and results in a low cloud base.
• So the crew have to be on the ball to make sure they can find a way to circumvent bad weather.
• This is not always possible, and we have long periods when flying has to be curtailed.

Impact of extreme cold on weight-carrying aircraft?

• The lower the temperature, the better the payload because the higher air density increases the lift-carrying capability of flying machines.
• So the loads that can be carried during winter are higher than during summer.
• This is a big advantage.
• For instance, an Il-76, which in summer can carry hardly any load from Leh, can fly out around 20 tonnes in the winter.
• It is the same with helicopters, whose load-carrying ability to extremely high helipads at altitudes of 17,000 to 20,000 feet increases substantially in winter.

challenges in navigation and night flying?

• The modern navigation equipment available now overcome most of the challenges.
• But mission accomplishment is not merely flying from place A to B.
• The aircraft has to land to complete a mission.
• That is where temperature and altitude plus weather become the final arbiters.
• As for night flying, it has its own unique challenges because of the shadows cast by hills, as well as the state and position of the moon relative to the hills and the aircraft.
• A dark, moonless night poses its own challenges, and a full moon has its own.

In the event of war, What kind of logistics support does the IAF require?

• There is a well-oiled logistics chain that has been fine-tuned by the IAF in the last six-seven decades of operation.
• The Army Service Corps (ASC) also plays an important part in ground positioning of fuel in forward posts.
• It places aviation turbine fuel in barrels in advanced fields, while Leh and Thoise have got fuel bowsers.

Threat to aircraft when the ground forces are eyeball to eyeball?

• The airfields of Leh and Thoise that support fixed wing operations (helicopters are rotary wing aircraft) are relatively in the interiors, hence not vulnerable to any ground action.
• They can of course be attacked by the Air Force and other aerial assets of the adversary, but there are standard operating protocols in place to deal with such threats.

Q) Which of the following statements regarding Indian Air Force are correct?

1- The Indian Air Force is divided into 5 operational & 2 functional commands.

2- Mi-17 & Cheetal light helicopters have been acquired from Russia.

3- The IAF is involved in all the 3 operations- Vijay, Meghdoot & Cactus.

1. 1 & 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 & 3 only
4. All of the above

Latest Burning Issues | Free PDF

Sharing is caring!