How IAF showed it's guarding India's skies with an Iron Fist
“More you sweat in peace, less you bleed in war” is the Indian Air Force (IAF) motto. Blood, sweat and tears keep a force battle-fit at all times. This was on display on March 18 when the IAF put up an impressive demonstration of air power at the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan.
The event was called "Iron Fist" whose logo showed an iron fist with a long arm to depict the long reach of the IAF. The Himalayan eagle perched on top with wings spread wide portrayed IAF’s readiness to conquer the sky.
The air chief pointed out that the exercise was aimed at showcasing the operational strength of a transforming IAF and assuring the nation that the safety of its sovereign skies lay in very capable hands.
The event was a showcase of all facets of air power and was packaged into six themes covering the IAF’s transformation, net-centric operations, air-defence, combat support, night ops and soft power.
All manned and unmanned aircraft, air-to-air and surface-to-air weapons, and special forces took part. The exercise exhibited the IAF’s capability to deter adversaries from any sort of adventurism.
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| Sukhoi-30. |
There were 181 aircrafts flying in 69 missions. The 103 fighters included the indigenous Tejas, Su-30, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Jaguar, MiG-27, MiG-21 and the Hawk advanced jet trainer.
The 59 helicopters included the Mi-17, Mi-35 attack helicopters, the indigenous Dhruv ALH and the Light Combat Helicopters (LCH). The range was prepared with a large number of realistic-looking structures simulating a variety of targets. The events were spread over day, dusk and night. The vintage Tiger Moth and Harvard aircrafts flew as a reminder of the IAF’s past.
There was also a simulated aerial combat demonstration. A short landing and take-off by the C-130J Super Hercules was demonstrated on an unpaved runway. Mid-air fuel transfer from the IL-78 to Su-30s was shown, as were combined operations by National Security Guard (NSG) and Garud commandos dropped from an Mi-17 in an urban landscape.
Night bombing exercise was performed by Mirage 2000, Mig-27, Jaguar and Su-30 fighters and Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters. The Boeing C-17 and An-32 aircrafts para-dropped Army’s special forces at night.
The IAF’s soft power included an aerobatic display by the Su-30 MKI, and synchronised aerial ballet by the Sarang and the Surya Kiran aerobatic teams. The IAF exhibited that it was a potent fighting machine with all-weather capability to deliver lethal fire power.
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| LCA Tejas. |
The IAF has come a long way since Independence. Earlier, the IAF’s power demonstration used to be held at the Tilpat Firing Range in Faridabad. It was first held in the spring of 1953 and has a very interesting history.
The Tilpat air power demonstration was planned as a major public relation exercise. Then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was to attend. The show included routine gunnery by Vampire and Toofani (Ouragan) fighter aircrafts.
Spitfires and Tempests were also to take part. There was to be a demonstration of para drop by Dakotas from Agra. Most of the aircrafts were to operate from Palam. The technical area of the airfield was full of visiting aircrafts.
Unfortunately, the media did not show much interest in the initial stages. There was a doubt whether Tilpat, which was poorly connected to Delhi, would attract a big enough crowd for the event.
It was, therefore, decided to airdrop leaflets over Delhi announcing the event. One of the display highlights was to be a demonstration of the awesome power of stick bombing by B-24 Liberators.
A large number of these aircrafts had been abandoned in the scrap yard of the Chakeri airfield in Kanpur; these were overhauled and refurbished by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and inducted into the IAF.
During a rehearsal with live bombs the delivery was perfect and the bombs fell in a straight line. However, the line pointed straight to Parliament House in Delhi.
Although it was several miles away, because of a fortuitous combination of timing and geological factors, the edifice shook as if a major earthquake had hit it.
Reportedly, most of the MPs ran out. When the cause was discovered, Nehru was livid and wanted the exercise cancelled. The scientific advisor to the defence minister came to the rescue.
He explained to the prime minister that his staff had studied the event thoroughly all night. They had concluded that a repetition of the occurrence was not possible.
Nehru accepted this view and permitted the demonstration to go ahead. Since high expectations had been raised by the radio and press, a large crowd came to see the show which resulted in extensive traffic jams. One victim of those jams was Nehru himself. Such a situation cannot even be imagined these days.
Nehru was trapped in his car in the middle of the road and neither the Delhi Police nor the Punjab Police could do anything about it. There was utter panic.
Ultimately, it was decided that Nehru would be extricated by a Sikorsky S-55 helicopter belonging to the only helicopter unit in the country based at Palam, and which was standing by for duties related to the air show. The helicopter was dispatched; Nehru was found, extricated and taken safely to Tilpat.
Being the son of an air force pilot, I was fortunate to see the brilliant displays of air power at Tilpat. I last saw the display in 1989. The president and prime minister were in attendance.
A fleet of MI–8s was used to ferry the VIPs from the Safdarjung Aerodrome. About 200 guests, including representatives from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, were at Tilpat for the two-hour demonstration.
Flying 124 planes from ten bases in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, the air force opened the show with supersonic runs by European-made Jaguar and Soviet-made MiG-27 jet fighters.
In fact, the Jaguar crept up on the audience slowly and stealthily and once in front of the stands, gave a sonic-salute to the president, which meant breaking the sound-barrier, and then went for a vertical climb.
The suddenness and the loudness of it had the audience in a thrall. All the variants of the MiGs – 21, 23, 27 and 29 - as well as the French-made Mirage 2000s participated.
The pilots demonstrated an array of ground-attack weapons, including cluster bombs and 57mm rockets. I recall two stripped down Sukhoi-7 airframes being used for target practice which were destroyed in moments by the cannon fire of a MiG-27. MiG 21s dropped napalms. The MI-25 attack helicopters also demonstrated their offensive capabilities.
There was also the unfortunate case of a parachute not opening in the para drop by the AN-24s. The audience gasped in horror as the soldier and his limp parachute came speeding to earth amidst the wondrous sight of hundreds of white parachutes descending gracefully. An emergency medical van immediately rushed to the spot and retrieved the body. This is the risk that our brave soldiers have to deal with as part of their onerous duty and it happened to be one of those days. The show, of course, continued.
The IAF, along with the Army and the Navy, is facing a huge shortage of officers and men. The government has taken a number of steps to encourage the youth to join the armed forces, including sustained image projection, participation in career fairs and exhibitions and publicity campaigns to create awareness. The pay structure has also been improved and various measures have been taken to create better infrastructure and facilities.
The air power demonstrations, which are televised live, will certainly go a long way in instilling pride and patriotism in our youth, enthusing them to join the IAF where a bright, exciting and fulfilling career awaits them.