Showing posts with label Indian Air Force. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian Air Force. Show all posts
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Dose--IAF
IAF Commands
The Indian Air Force has seven commands, of which five are operational and two functional, namely :
- HQ Central Air Command, Allahabad;
- HQ Eastern Air Command, Shillong;
- HQ Western Air Command, New Delhi;
- HQ Southern Air Command, Trivendrum;
- HQ South-Western Air Command, Gandhi Nagar;
- HQ Maintenance Command, Nagpur; and
- HQ Training Command, Bangalore.
The Indian Air Force is divided into the following broad categories :
- Flying operations;
- Maintenance & Logistics;
- Administration; and
- Training.
MiG-29 : Twin engine, single seater air superiority fighter aircraft of Russian origin capable of attaining max. speed of 2445 km per hour (Mach-2.3%29. It has a combat ceiling of 17 km. It carries a 30 mm cannon alongwith four R-60 close combat and two R-27 R medium range radar guided missiles.
Group Captain NK Prashar, JD AF Adv was the first to fly X-Air microlight on night on 15 Sep 2000 at Air Force Station Hindon. Subsequently, on the same night Sqn Ldr MIK Reddy carried out a skydiving jump from X-Air Microlight. Distinguishing Rank Flags are commonly displayed on masts at various formations as well as on vehicles in which the entitled officer is travelling.
Officers of the rank of Wing Commander and above commanding a formation/ station/ unit (not detachments) are entitled to fly a distinguishing flag, which will measure 2' in the hoist and 3' in the fly. The flag is to be flown at the head of the flag mast of the formation/ station/ unit and is not to be hoisted and lowered daily or flown at half-mast. The flag will be flown at all times except when replaced by the national flag during visits by Government or Foreign dignitaries.
A smaller version of the rank flag is carried on Vehicles.
Marshal of the Air Force
Rank Flag of the Marshal of the Air Force - displaying five star status. Till date , only one person has been entitled to it - Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh. See the photograph at the end showing the display of it on a car. Chief of Air Staff (Air Chief Marshal)
Chief of Air Staff - Air Chief Marshal Rank Air Officer Commanding in Chief (Air Marshal)
Air Marshal Rank Flag Air Vice Marshal
Air Vice Marshal Rank Air Commodore
Air Commodore Group Captain
Group Captain Wing Commander
Wing Commander Method of Display on Vehicles
The Flag is prominently mounted on a small flagstaff that is placed in front of the car in center. The photographs below illustrate the flag displayed on Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh's Car.
Rules of Display
(a) At formation/ station where more than one unit is located only the station commander is entitled to fly the flag.
(b) At Air Headquarters and command headquarters the only distinguishing flag flown to be that of the Chief of the Air Staff or the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, respectively. Officers Commanding, headquarters units, are not entitled to fly flags.
(c) The flag is to be flown only when the entitled officer is actually present in the headquarters station.
(d) When the Chief of the Air Staff/ AOC-in-C/ AOC visits a station, the distinguishing rank flag of the station commander will continue to be flown and not the rank flag of the inspecting officer.
Courtesy---
BHARAT RAKSHAK
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Indian Refueler Program May Be Rebid
NEW DELHI - India's purchase program for six midair refuelers may be rebid after questions arose regarding bid cost and competitiveness, Indian Defence Ministry sources said.
"The procurement proposal had been progressed in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure-2006 and thereafter referred to the Ministry of Finance, who has expressed certain reservations relating to the competitiveness of the bids and the reasonableness of the price," says a Dec. 14 Defence Ministry release, quoting the official reply of Defence Minister A. K. Antony to India's Parliament.
Four years ago, a request for proposal was sent to U.S.-based Lockheed Martin and Boeing, EADS and Ilyushin of Tashkent.
Lockheed Martin and Boeing did not respond to the tender, leaving only Ilyushin and EADS in the fray.
Ilyushin's bid was lower than that of EADS but the Air Force favored buying the A330 multirole tanker over the IL-78 of Ilyushin, which it had been using. The matter was referred to the Finance Ministry, which rejected the Air Force request, saying the lowest bidder should be the obvious choice.
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=12084
Friday, November 20, 2009
Women as fighter pilots bad investment: IAF
ALL MEN FORCE: Senior IAF officer says women will have to wait to be fighter pilots.New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will be flying President Pratibha Patil in a Sukhoi fighter jet, but it will have to wait for women to be fighter pilots.Vice-Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal P K Barbora, on Tuesday gave a statement, which suggests that women IAF officers must delay pregnancy if they want to become fighter pilots.
“We might see this change (women as fighter pilots) coming in with certain pre-conditions - that till this age we require you to be happy, be married (but) let us hope that you don't have an offspring,” said Barbora at a press conference in New Delhi.
Barbora suggested that women officers must plan a child only after “13-14 years of flying service” when “investments” made on a fighter pilot will be recovered by the Air Force.
“We can induct women fighter pilots for show purposes. But we spend an exorbitant amount on training fighter pilots, and if we are not able to utilise them optimally, it may not be prudent to have women fighter pilots at the moment,” said Barbora.“Once the lady goes the family way, she will be off flying for 10 months. And when we have invested so much, it is not a fruitful development.”
Barbora, however, assured women IAF officers that there would be a change down the line.
“A few years from now, there will be some change. However, we will not induct women just for the sake of it but for optimally utilising their potential,” he said.
Barbora’s statement may trigger a controversy and reflects the military’s discomfort with using women for combat roles, reports CNN-IBN’s Associate Editor, Defence, Vishal Thapar.
IANS reports the IAF currently has 784 women officers working in different branches, but that they are barred from the fighter pilot stream.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
25 Squadron (Himalayan Eagles)
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009
India-US joint air force exercise begins in Agra
AGRA - A five-day joint exercise involving the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF) transport aircraft, Cope India-09, began here Monday.
The US team comprises more than 150 airmen, three C-130H Hercules, one C-17 Globemaster III, and one C-130J aircraft while the IAF will field one IL-76 Gajraj, four AN-32 Sutlej, two MI-17 Pratap, and one Chetak Alouette III aircraft for the exercise.
During the exercise participants will exchange airlift, airland and airdrop delivery techniques and participate in aeromedical and disaster management exercises involving medium and heavy lift transport aircraft.
The US team comprises more than 150 airmen, three C-130H Hercules, one C-17 Globemaster III, and one C-130J aircraft while the IAF will field one IL-76 Gajraj, four AN-32 Sutlej, two MI-17 Pratap, and one Chetak Alouette III aircraft for the exercise.
During the exercise participants will exchange airlift, airland and airdrop delivery techniques and participate in aeromedical and disaster management exercises involving medium and heavy lift transport aircraft.
LIMCA RECORD HOLDERS of IAF
- Air Marshal VK Bhatia PVSM, AVSM, VrC & Bar was the first Indian who dared a tandem skydiving jump in India at the age of 56 yrs. This daring feat was performed on 17 Sep 1999 at Agra airfield from an AN-32 aircraft.
- Group Captain NK Prashar, JD AF Adv was the first to fly X-Air microlight on night on 15 Sep 2000 at Air Force Station Hindon. Subsequently on the same night Sqn Ldr MIK Reddy carried out a skydiving jump from X-Air Microlight.
- Sqn Ldr Sanjay Thapar VM is the man of many firsts in the field of parachuting, two of his achievements are acknowledged as world records and seven others as National Records. He was the first Indian to introduce tandem skydiving in the Air Force.
- Sqn Ldr Jay Shankar is an officer from Admin branch and an adventure enthusiast. He is pursuing sports parachuting since 1990. He is a sports parachuting instructor without being a PJI. He has 602 jumps to his credit. For a non-professional paratrooper this number is highly creditable.
- Sqn Ldr MIK Reddy is a NDA graduate and an adventure freak. He is specialist in watersports, parasailing and skydiving. He has over 780 skydiving jumps to his credit, the highest for a non PJI in the Air Force. He has also conducted many basic skydiving courses and demonstrations independently. He is also the first to carry out a jump from X-Air Microlight at night.
- Sqn Ldr RC Tripathi. A pioneer of Adventure sports, specialist in parachuting, mountaineering and water sports. As on date he has 1040 jumps. He is the first to jump from an X-Air microlight on 04 Apr 2001 at Air Force Station Hindon. Microlight was flown by Gp Capt NK Prashar, JD AF Adv.
- Sqn Ldr Vasant Raj and Flt Lt Bhawana Mane. Both are helicopter pilots and the first couple in the Air Force to skydiving together on 30 May 2000 at National Defence Academy, Pune.
- Flt Lt Kamal Singh Oberh. A young parachute jump instructor, made a jump over South Pole on 01 Jan 2000 and earned the distinction of being the first Indian to perform this daring feat.
- Flt Lt KB Samyal and Flt Lt Kopal Gupta. Flt Lt Samyal is a professional parachute jump instructor at Paratroopers Training School. His wife Flt Lt Kopal Gupta is a logistic officer at AF Stn Agra. Both Samyal and Kopal became the first couple to do Relative Work on 04 Oct 2000 during the Subroto Cup Football finals at Ambedkar Stadium, New Delhi. As on date Flt Lt Samyal has over 350 jumps to his credit whereas Flt Lt Kopal has 220 jumps to her credit.
- In addition, there are few other Air Force personnel, who have also set records and earned their names in Lima Book of Records one being a six man Relative Work by PTS under the leadership of Wg Cdr HN Bhagwat in Aug 2000.
IAF Jaguars to conduct military exercise with Oman
NEW DELHI - The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) deep penetration strike aircraft Jaguar will fly down to Oman this month for a military exercise.
“To further military diplomacy and for addressing issues of inter-operabililty, IAF will be conducting a series of international exercises. Our fighters will be going to Oman for a bilateral exercise,” IAF chief Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik told IANS.
The Royal Omani Air Force is the only other force in the world which still flies the British-built Jaguar, known as Shamsher in the IAF.
About half complement of the squadron, about five or six jets, are likely to go for the exercise to be conducted in the third week of October. The IAF’s ‘Flaming Arrows’ Jaguar squadron will be participating in the exercise.
“With only two air forces flying the combat jets, there have been training exchange programmes with Oman on this front,” a senior IAF official said Saturday, requesting anonymity.
India and Oman have agreed to step up cooperation by upgrading their joint military exercises and already have a memorandum of understanding on defence in place. Last year, Oman offered to provide berthing facilities for Indian Navy’s warships patrolling the piracy-hit waters off the shores of Somalia.
Oman military personnel are already being trained in Indian military training institutions.
Oman has also been seeking assistance from the Indian armed forces to set up credible supply systems for their defence equipment.
Source--http://blog.taragana.com/n/iaf-jaguars-to-conduct-military-exercise-with-oman-192354/
“To further military diplomacy and for addressing issues of inter-operabililty, IAF will be conducting a series of international exercises. Our fighters will be going to Oman for a bilateral exercise,” IAF chief Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik told IANS.
The Royal Omani Air Force is the only other force in the world which still flies the British-built Jaguar, known as Shamsher in the IAF.
About half complement of the squadron, about five or six jets, are likely to go for the exercise to be conducted in the third week of October. The IAF’s ‘Flaming Arrows’ Jaguar squadron will be participating in the exercise.
“With only two air forces flying the combat jets, there have been training exchange programmes with Oman on this front,” a senior IAF official said Saturday, requesting anonymity.
India and Oman have agreed to step up cooperation by upgrading their joint military exercises and already have a memorandum of understanding on defence in place. Last year, Oman offered to provide berthing facilities for Indian Navy’s warships patrolling the piracy-hit waters off the shores of Somalia.
Oman military personnel are already being trained in Indian military training institutions.
Oman has also been seeking assistance from the Indian armed forces to set up credible supply systems for their defence equipment.
Source--http://blog.taragana.com/n/iaf-jaguars-to-conduct-military-exercise-with-oman-192354/
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Kargil then and NOW{Post-Kargil, Army geared up to take on enemies}
Hundreds of posts have mushroomed along the 160-kilometre-long area of intrusion between Mushkoh valley near Drass to Batalik and Turtuk near the Siachen glacier.
And these posts have not been vacated despite the most hostile weather conditions in the past 10 years. The Siachenisation of Kargil is complete.
In 1999, Pakistan launched multiple armed intrusions in unheld areas to cut off Siachen glacier and avenge their 1971 defeat. Now all gaps have been plugged.
In the backdrop of Kargil, one can recall, in 1999 one brigade defended the Line of Control in the Kargil sector-2,400 men.
But, in 2009 there is a full division guarding the same area - that's three infantry brigades and one artillery brigade. Almost 20,000 men have been deployed in the Drass, Kargil batalik region. A division headquarters has come up in Hanuthang for closer monitoring of all developments and to ensure that a Kargil does not happen again.
A specialised battle school has also been set up to train jawans in mountain climbing and high altitude warfare and only the best of the best pass out of the Kargil Battle School.
Army's Achilles heel
Artillery was credited for winning the war for the army. Hundreds of guns pounded enemy held peaks during the conflict. Though several regiments have been deployed along the Line of Control, but the lack of artillery modernisation remains the army's Achilee's Heel.
Aerial scanning
The skies above Kargil are now constantly scanned. Apart from aviation sorties by Indian Air Forceunmanned aerial vehicles fly over the area of operation to check for any enemy movement. helicopters, both searcher and heron
Vigilance on ground
On ground the army has procured sophisticated hand held thermal imagers and night vision devices.
An unofficial estimate suggests that Rs 8 to 10 crores is being spent per day to sustain the troops at this high altitude battlefield.
But all along the LOC one fact is evident - that whatever be the cost it will never again be said that the Indian army was caught off guard.
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