Bharat Rakshak

Nitin, when the Americans came to Gwalior, they did not bring their system such as AWACs, refueling tankers, SEAD etc. so your arguments about the IAF system being good remains to be seen because the IAF system has not been fully tested........ If the Americans had brought one whole squadron like 2...

it does'nt speak well for the ground staff at all. period. the very fact that a couple before this one had suffered from landing gear problems meant that the Mirages should have been inspected thoroughly. after all, these are among the most expensive fighters in the IAF inventory. no excuses can be...

Any idea which version of the Su-30 is going to be deployed this time around?[/quote]

The Mk-1![/quote]

Do you mean the 'K'? That's the equivalent of the 'Mk-1'

I first got to know BR in July 99, and it really has grown. The quality of thought is what I like. Well done, chaps!!

Rajiv,<P> Like Johann, I laud the principle of not accepting statements on face value. However, please understand there are two sides of the matter. It is possible for a serviceman to understand the civilian point of view if he takes the trouble to read and interact - however, it is almost impossibl...

Johann,<P>"The ALH unless it is redesigned as a dedicated gunship...."<BR>That will be a major job. The ALH is grossly underpowered, which explains the lukewarm response from the AF. The Army wants to use it as an armed chopper, though.

Chaithanya,<BR>"I don't expect "real" strategists to visit this forum & talk about the "truth" "<P>Again, you'll be surprised!!

Rajiv,<P> Get real... if something is not possible, some way has to be found around it. The Army is affected, so also is the AF. Its not a question of ducking responsibility - every red blooded soldier/airman/sailor wants the best so he can do HIS best... is he given it? The point is, there is a way...

David, <P>about 896 bits!

Chaithanya (sorry for mispelling your name last post),<P>lets take these questions.<P>"Why did IAF not provide traditional CAS ?" because traditional CAS was just not possible to fly in that terrain. Just one aspect is the effect on vertically undulating terrain on weapon accuracy. Take th...

Chaitanya,<BR>"They are all written by armchair strategists. "<BR>I wouldnt bet on that.

Rajiv,<P>"This is one more reason to use Harriers because they wouldn't have needed Srinagar airbase!" Do you suggest that they would have been safer operating from any of the forward camps? Dras? Kargil? Operating from flat open terrain, prepared with PSP, precisely located to a 6 figure ...

Folks,<P> There's too much hype about the success of the Mirage in Kargil. Look... out of 41 attempts to launch, there were 11 lock ons, 8 which held till after launch, resulting in 5 direct hits! The MiG-21/23/27s, statistically, got better results. Its just that the Mirages had the equipment to vi...

In addition to what Salman has said (and which I agree with), I feel Phillip has some facts wrong. The IAF did not ask for the Harrier because this fighter is OK at sea level, but would have been helpless at that kind of altitude. A harrier cannot hover, or "viff" (ie, use its thrust vecto...

Rama,<P>"I thought close air support was the primary mission of IAF's Mig27 fleet"<P> By "close air support", I presume you mean what the IAF now terms "Battlefield Air Strike", meaning attacking enemy targets on the frontline. That is the minimal part - the MiG-27 is p...

Patel,<P>"Yes definetely, the Hunters gave the Army a WELL DESERVED hand, but again, without the gallant and defying attitude of Maj. K.S. Chandpuri's men, there would have been NO<BR>ROLE LEFT FOR THE HUNTERS to play in this epic battle. "<P> I don't quite get the logic. Obviously, the Ar...

"My point is that there is no point spending a lot of money on IT without the capacity to buy anything/ stock anything."<P> Absolutely true... in fact, overhauling procurement processes is a major thrust area for the integrated Services-Ministry-Industry Task Force on IT.

Incidentally, the MiG-21 upgrade IS a replacement for the MiG-21, and is going to be relevant for a lo-o-o-ong time.

I hear the IAF set up a think tank called the Directorate of Concept Studies, and IT/IW is one of the areas they are looking at.

I think the IAF is getting started in a big way to institute ERP in their terms, to encompass operational, maintenance and logistic areas. So far I think they have been using PCs as typewriters!

Niranjan Rao,<P> "Has this map appeared in any of the Indian news papers - I have not checked them so far?" I know that it was given to the Press, along with the statement, in writing. Only HT seems to have carried the map on 14 Aug. Sad!<BR>

Niranjan,<P> Ask Rupak! He's the tech man.

Thanks, Rupak! That was fast. Now tell me how you put it up!<P> For those who are interested, the webmaster of the IAF site is holding a chat on the incident - this is as per a reply I got, as follows:<P>Thank you for your interest. <P> The Pak Navy Breguet Atlantique ASW and maritime recce aircraft...

IAF Scores a Kill - the actual story!!!<P> <P> On 10 Aug 99 at 10:51 hrs IST an IAF ground radar picked up an aircraft track inside Sind region of Pakistan near Badin, approaching the Indo-Pakistan international border (IB) on a South-Easterly course. The track was moving at a speed of 370 kmph main...

Sukumar,<P>"The Argentinian AF pilots were brave, but lacked training and tactics."<P> Perhaps, but the main fact against the Argie AF was that the mainland was so far from the Falklands, the Mirage V/Super Etendards were critically short of fuel when they reached the target, even without ...

Ramen_Das,<BR> "IAF is making a big play to grab all the meat. IN is hoping and praying for ATV. IA is sulking." LOL!!! Very neatly (and astutely) put.<P>"How does the civilian command devolve?"<P> I guess in such a situation, things will move smoothly to the military, if only fo...

Laxman<P> The IAF has seven Commands, of which four (now five) are operational. These are Western, South Western, Central, Eastern and Southern (the most recent)Air Commands. These Commands have geographical boundaries and work in a way very similar to what you have described, with the same guiding ...

Akhilesh,<P>"The reason I fel this is because there is absolutely no reliable friend-or-foe system for a mps." True - but MP SAMs (as the IAF calls the) are meant as visual weapons, and the operator must be able to recognise aircraft. <P>Badar,<P>"They are most likely to be issued onl...

Thanks, Raghu.<P>Chaitanya, I'll have a bash at your q's after a few hours. BRB after some work.

Salman,<P>"....the claim of 100% accuracy..." A valid point, but look at it this way. While individual accuracy on the firing range may be about 20-50 yards for an IAF pilot (working figure), this applies to a single iron bomb. Imagine the same guy dropping 2-6 bombs - some have GOT to be ...

Thanks, folks, for all the appreaciation.<P>Vram - "...In this light, why wouldn't you consider IAF' air campaign to be merely glorified artillery??" Looking specifically at this operation, you are almost correct; "almost", as there were a few targets which the IAF took on indepe...

Salman,<P> Sorry... I though I had answered all of them! Incidentally, the Jaguar *was* used, but sparingly. <P> And, Vivek, the MiG-23/27 was far more effective than the Jag- though the Jag was not used in the offensive role, its main weakness being the power/load carrying capability in this theatre.

Salman,<P> Thanks. <P> The attack choppers you mentioned do have a ceiling limitation - but thats not all. Due to the heavy armour and weapon load capacity (precisely what makes them formidable at sea level)they cant climb as well as manoeuvre at that altitude. The terrain per se was not a problem, ...

I have tried to put together my thoughts in some order - a debate on air power is something which the country needs but, unfortunately, does not fully comprehend. <P>Introduction<P>1. Operation Safedsagar, as the air operations in the Kargil area were called, was, indeed, a milestone in the history ...