Article Posted on : - Oct 02, 2010

IAF Mi-17 medium lift helicopter

NEW DELHI (PTI): The Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters currently serving in UN missions in Congo and Sudan will return to India beginning this month-end, primarily to augment the transport fleet and in support of the Army in desert terrains along the borders with Pakistan.

"The IAF helicopters in United Nations mission will be coming back by end of October," Western Air Command Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Air Marshal N A K Browne told a press conference here Friday.

On an IAF proposal citing its helicopter fleet being stretched to its limits, the Defence Ministry wrote to the External Affairs Ministry in June this year that the 17 Mi-17 medium lift helicopters, eight Mi-35 and Mi-25 attack in the UN missions in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sudan should be de-inducted and brought back for internal security duties.

While the Mi-17s are likely to augment the transport fleet of the IAF in view of four such helicopters busy serving in logistics role in the country's anti-Naxal operations in central India, the attack helicopters would be used to provide support roles to the Army troops deployed in the deserts of Rajasthan along the Indo-Pak borders.

"The Mi-35s will get back to Suratgarh, its home base.
These will be refurbished and re-painted (in IAF colours).
Gradually there will be a build of the fleet in the Suratgarh unit," Browne said.

Suratgarh will also become home for a Mi-17IV unit in May- June next year, as part of the IAF's plans to strengthen the transport helicopter fleet in the deserts, he added.

Mi-17IVs will also be based in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir following the Suratgarh deployment.

"Our resources have been stretched to the limit, particularly the helicopter fleet. For six to seven years, they have been deployed in the UN peace-keeping missions. They have taken a huge amount of workload over the years. So the Air Maintenance headquarters felt we should get these back in time and use them within India itself," Browne said on the justification for recalling the helicopters from Congo and Sudan.

He clarified that the attack helicopters, got back from UN, would not be used in the anti-Naxal operations. "These attack helicopters are not for use in the anti-Naxal operations. No," he replied to a query in this regard, pointing out that these helicopters would be used only for supporting the troops in deserts.

Browne said the attack helicopter's task had increased within India and there was "tremendous amount" of need to get more helicopters for use by the IAF internally.

He said the 80 Mi-17 helicopters being bought from Russia was for supplementing the air force's transport tasks and in aid of civilian authorities for flood relief and casualty evacuation.

Browne said the IAF would carry out a major air exercise, nicknamed 'Gauntlet' involving most of its potent platforms by this year end, as a follow up of the two major exercise -- Abhyas I and Abhyas II it conducted in October last and April this year respectively.

Asked about the reason for naming the future exercise as 'Gauntlet', the WAC chief joked, "We just wanted to make it exciting", but added that it would be "more complex and far more dynamic" with "more aspects" of the air power involved.

"Gauntlet will test our force and test our command and control system. Army will partly join the exercise," he added.

About Abhyas II, Browne said that the IAF used for the first time its new force multiplier, the 'Phalcon' Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS), it had inducted recently, but refused to share the experience.

On some of the infrastructure development works at the airbases in his area of command, the WAC chief said Leh and Ambala runways were being resurfaced and the work would be completed by next year.

Srinagar runway was resurfaced last month and Awantipur airfield was being used by the IAF for its operations during the renovation period.
Under the Modernisation of the Air Field Infrastructure (MAFI) project, Bhatinda airbase in Punjab would be the first to be upgraded with latest facilities.

"The planning work for MAFI implementation is going on in Air headquarters right now. Once the project is taken up for implementation, Bhatinda will be upgraded to MAFI standards in nine months," he added.

He said Halwara airbase near Ludhiana in Punjab would be the first in the WAC to have Sukhoi squadrons, where two Su-30MKI units would be deployed next year.

On the sensors to be deployed in the WAC region, Browne said three medium powered radars would be based here for which work had already started and it would be in place by next year.

Plans for having low level radars, aerostats and indigenous Rohini radars in the WAC region too were afoot, he added.

Regarding the anti-Naxal operations, in which the Air Force provided logistics support with codenamed 'Op Triveni', the IAF had between October last and September this year, flew 955 sorties on its four Mi-17 helicopters when it carried 6,282 paramilitary personnel and 95 tonnes of equipment and supplies for the troops.

In the relief operations for the cloudburst-hit Leh, the IAF used 10 Cheetahs and four Mi-17s from units in Leh and Thoise for flying 295 sorties, 550 tonnes of supplies and 400 relief personnel.