Page 6 - Iaf

IAF chopper requisitioned to airlift tourists stranded at Chandertal in HP

A helicopter from the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been requisitioned to airlift the tourists stranded at Chandertal in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh while a rescue team from Kaza has reached Kunzum Top and is just eight kilometres away from the lake, Principal Secretary, Revenue, Onkar Chand Sharma said on Tuesday. Around 300 people, mostly tourists, are stuck in camps at Chandertal, located at an altitude of 14,100 feet, following rain and snowfall in the region. "Two of them were facing breathing issues due to the high altitude and they would be airlifted," Sharma said. All the stranded people would be evacuated to safe places by Tuesday night, he said, adding that about 100 people were rescued from different places in the hill state on Monday. Two teams have been deputed for road restoration -- one from the Losar side and the other from Kaza. The team comprises members of the administration, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), polic

Indian Air Force practises in France for Bastille Day parade on July 14

Officials said that the IAF flying contingent of 4 Rafale aircraft and 2 C-17 Globemasters were welcomed by the French Air and Space Force (FASF)

IAF may get deliveries of LCA Tejas from Feb next year: Defence ministry

The Indian Air Force is expected to get deliveries of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas MK-1A from February next year, and the new variant of the indigenously-built jet will be capable of firing a plethora of weapons, including beyond visual range missiles, the Ministry of Defence said on Friday. As the jet completes seven years in service in the IAF, the ministry said the aircraft and its future variants will form the mainstay of the Indian Air Force (IAF). In February 2021, the ministry sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for procurement of 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the IAF. Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments. Egypt, Argentina, the US, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are among the countries showing keen interest in procuring Tejas aircraft. On Saturday, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) will complete seven years of service in the IAF. "The confidenc

Indian Air Force concludes 15-week course to brush up strategic thinking

Dominating the tactical and strategic battlefield today is a high level of transparency, digital communications and precision-guided weapons during both day and night

Prez Murmu reviews graduation parade, confers awards at Air Force Academy

The President commissioned the Graduating Flight Cadets. The Graduating Officers included 39 women officers who got commissioned in various branches of the IAF

IAF taking steps to be ever ready in view of security scenario: President

The Indian Air Force is taking steps to be ever ready and future ready keeping in view the overall security scenario including the challenges of fighting a high-technology war in a network-centric future battle space, President Droupadi Murmu said on Saturday. Addressing the Combined Graduation Parade at Air Force Academy near here, she said the ability to absorb technology at a rapid pace will be essential for defence preparedness at land, sea and air. The President said together the defence forces of the country protect land frontiers, large coastline and territorial waters and a huge air space. "Each and every officer of the armed forces has to keep in mind an integrated perspective of defence preparedness," she said. Modernisation of the Indian Air Force by the induction of Rafale fighter aircraft and Chinook heavy lift choppers strengthens the operational capabilities of IAF, she opined.

IAF Deputy Chief Ashutosh Dixit flies under-development LCA trainer

He will also visit the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) 'Prachand' production line to assess the production status of the homegrown combat helicopter

IAF choppers sought to douse fire raging at Satpura Bhawan, Congress slams

The six-storey Satpura Bhawan, where at least half a dozen departments of the Madhya Pradesh government are located, was engulfed in a massive fire on Monday, resulting in damage to official records

Since Galwan crisis, measures taken to have deterrence in area: IAF chief

Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari on Friday said the IAF is "fully aware" of the developments that are taking place across the northern borders and asserted that since the Galwan Valley crisis in 2020, the force is continuously upgrading its capabilities and changing tactics to be able to handle any threat. At an event here, the IAF chief also said that three winters down the line, "we have created adequate infrastructure" and ensured "adequate deployment of all our assets" to have a "credible deterrence in that area". The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over-three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks. The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. "We are alw

IAF chief Chaudhari underlines need to reduce dependence on imports

IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari on Friday said the key to success lies in increased spending on research and development, coupled with indigenous manufacture of defence equipment. Addressing a conclave here, he also impressed upon the need to reduce dependence on imports. The IAF on Friday shared a tweet highlighting some of the key points made in Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari's speech. "Speaking on the topic of 'Propelling Self Reliance in the Aerospace & Defence Sector' at the 'India Defence Conclave' organised by the @EconomicTimes, #CAS Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari impressed upon the need to reduce dependence on imports," it tweeted. It was followed by more tweets in one thread along with some photographs. The IAF chief advocated an "ABCD approach for achieving strategic autonomy in defence equipment," it tweeted. "Such a methodology would entail ACQUISITION of Indigenous technology, BOOSTING capability with upgrades, CONSERVING capacity through maintenance & ...

HC closes PIL alleging gender bias in IAF, says there's no discrimination

The Delhi High Court has closed the proceedings in a PIL alleging gender bias and discrimination in the Indian Air Force (IAF) against women who were not employed as 'airmen' in the technical and non-technical grades in any of its departments, noting that pursuant to recruitment under the Agnipath scheme there is no gender discrimination now. A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, in an order passed last week, recorded the Centre has stated on affidavit that it is now recruiting unmarried Indian male as well as female candidates in Army, Navy and Air Force under the Agnipath Scheme and no further court orders were required in this regard. The petitioner, Kush Kalra, had objected to the recruitment of only unmarried men to the post of 'airmen' in groups 'X' and 'Y' trades in all the departments of the force. Group 'X' trade refers to technical fields like aircraft and ground systems, while group 'Y' pertains to non-technical fields like logistics and accounts. An ...

MiG-29's additional fuel tank dislodges during training, falls in forest

An additional fuel tank of a MiG-29 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) got dislodged during a training session on Monday, and fell in a forest area near the Kalaikunda base in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district, a defence official said. There was no loss of life or damage to property as a result of the incident, he said. The MiG-29 aircraft was on a routine training mission. "While returning to Kalaikunda airbase, ventral drop tank which is used to carry additional fuel got dislodged and fell into an uninhabited forest," the defence official said. The drop tank was being brought to the Kalaikunda airbase in coordination with the civil administration, he said. An investigation was started to find out the cause of the incident, the official said.

IAF temporarily grounds fleet of around 50 MiG-21 fighter aircraft

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has temporarily grounded its fleet of around 50 MiG-21 fighter aircraft following the crash of one of the jets in Rajasthan's Hanumangarh nearly two weeks ago, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday. Three persons were killed after the MiG-21 aircraft crashed into a house in Hanumangarh shortly after it took off for a routine training sortie from the Air Force Station at Suratgarh on May 8. The people cited above said all the MiG-21 aircraft are currently undergoing technical evaluation and checks, adding they will be allowed to fly only after clearance by the teams concerned carrying out the scrutiny. The crash of the jet had again put the spotlight on the ageing fleet of Soviet-origin aircraft which were involved in around 400 accidents since their first induction in the early 1960s. The MiG-21s used to be the mainstay of the IAF for a long period of time. After the first induction, the IAF procured over 870 MiG-21 fighters to boost its overal

Multiple events like Russia-Ukraine war disrupted supply chains: IAF Chief

The event organised by the IAF was held at the Air Force Auditorium in the national capital, where Air Chief Marshal Chaudhuri inaugurated the seminar and delivered the key-note address

Chequered history: Why the MIG-21 came to be called 'the flying coffin'

The crash in Rajasthan that killed 3 is the latest in a series of accidents involving the jet that is to be phased out by 2025

IAF working on phasing out remaining three squadrons of MiG-21 jets

The crash of a MiG-21 jet in Rajasthan's Hanumangarh on Monday has once again put the spotlight on the Indian Air Force's aging fleet of Soviet-origin aircraft which have been involved in around 400 accidents since their first induction in the early 1960s. Three people were killed after the MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed into a house in Hanumangarh in Rajasthan shortly after it took off for a routine training sortie from the Air Force Station at Suratgarh. The MiG-21s used to be the mainstay of the IAF for a long period of time. After its induction in the early 1960s, the Indian Air Force procured over 870 MiG-21 fighters to boost its overall combat prowess. However, the aircraft has a very poor safety record. According to official data, the MiG-21s were involved in 400 crashes in the last six decades. At present, the IAF has three MiG-21 squadrons with a total of around 50 aircraft, according to officials. The IAF last year finalised a timeline of three years to phase out the ...

Defence Minister opens first-of-its-kind IAF Heritage Centre in Chandigarh

The main attractions of the heritage centre are five vintage aircraft and SAM-III Pechora missiles safeguarding the Indian sky since decades

IAF's first C-295 tactical transport aircraft takes to the skies

This was the first time the defence ministry entrusted a private firm - TASL - to carry out the entire final assembly of a military aircraft

Indian Air Force brings back another 192 people from violence-hit Sudan

The aircraft refuelled at Jeddah to undertake a non-stop flight from Jeddah, via war-torn Sudan, to India

Rafale jets of India, France carry out multinational air exercise

Rafale jets of India and France have been jointly carrying out aerial drills as part of a multinational air exercise at the French airbase of Mont-de-Marsan, officials said on Tuesday. Shivangi Singh, the Indian Air Force's first woman Rafale pilot, is part of the Indian team that is participating in the Exercise Orion, they said. In January, Squadron Leader Avani Chaturvedi scripted history by becoming the first IAF woman fighter pilot to take part in an aerial wargame abroad. Chaturvedi, a Su-30MKI pilot, was part of the IAF's contingent that participated in the 16-day mega air combat exercise with Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) at the Japanese airbase of Hyakuri from January 12 to 26. India deployed four Rafale jets, two C-17 aircraft and two IL-78 mid-air refuellers for the three-week multinational exercise in France that began on April 17. It was the first overseas exercise for the Indian Air Force's Rafale jets. Besides the IAF and the French Air and Space Force (FASF