Air Force ready for any contingency within or outside country: AVM Surat Singh

Assistant Chief of Air Staff Operations (Space) Air Vice Marshal Surat Singh on Wednesday said that the Air Force is ready to tackle any contingency that may arise both within and outside the country amid the coronavirus lockdown.

"We had sent our aircraft first to Wuhan and then Iran to bring back our people. Then to support the Maldives in terms of medical supplies, we had sent an aircraft there under Operation Sanjeevani. We have also supplied material to Nepal. We are ready to tackle any contingency both within and outside the country," Singh told ANI here.

He said that the Air Force is fully prepared and have all the resources in order to meet its critical capabilities and at the same time giving support to the nation in order to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are in constant liaison with the Department of Defence and Department of Military Affairs at the Ministry of Defence. A critical management cell has been created, both at Air HQ and Command HQ, and there is a constant liaison with the Air Force and outside agencies," Singh said.

"We have also pre-positioned a large number of white-bodied aircraft and helicopters at various places across the country in order to ensure that we react very promptly to any situation that may arise, primarily at supporting government's efforts towards fighting coronavirus," he added.

Singh said that regular video conferencing are also being held to review the efforts.

This comes as the country is under a 21-day lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which according to the Ministry of Health and Family Affairs has claimed the lives of 149 people and infected 5,194 people as on Wednesday.