NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force is very "well positioned" to deal with any threat and very strong deployments have been made in all relevant areas considering the security scenario, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said on Monday, referring to the border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.
Addressing a press conference ahead of Air Force Day on October 8, Bhadauria said Chinese air power can't get the better of India's capabilities but at the same time added that there is no question of underestimating the adversary.
He also said that the IAF is prepared to deal with a two-front war along the northern and western borders if such a scenario arises.
"We are prepared for any conflict including for a two front war. Be rest assured that we are deployed strongly to deal with any contingency.Our position as a credible combat-ready force is vital, given the role Air Force will play towards ensuring victory in any future conflict," the IAF Chief said on the threat from China in Ladakh.
The Air Chief Marshal said the IAF is "very well positioned" to deal with any action along the northern border.
"Our capabilities have surprised our adversary. Induction of Rafale has given us operational edge. Emerging threats mandate us to have robust capabilities of IAF. Matrix of threat facing country is complex. Indian Air Force is transforming at a rapid pace," Bhaduria said at a virtual press conference ahead of the IAF day.
"Current progress of talks is slowNot correct to say we were surprised but we never expected that Chinese would approach LAC. We (Army & Air Force) mobilised swiftly. Air Force met all the requirements of rapid mobilisation of equipment and troops," he said on the Ladakh situation.
"We are very well positioned. The next three months in Eastern Ladakh will largely depend on how the talks will progress. We hope they progress well. Currently it is slow. We see an effort to dig in (by Chinese). We have made deployment in all relevant areas; Ladakh is a small part. There is no question of underestimating adversary," Bhadauria replied on whether IAF is ready to deal with any Chinese challenge.
"We've operationalised Rafales, Chinooks, Apache and integrated them with our concept of operations in record time. In next 3 yrs we'll see Rafale & LCA Mark 1 squadrons operating with full strength, along with additional MiG-29 being ordered in addition to current fleets. AMCA will be our mainstay in a decade or so. Processes have been set for sixth Generation technologies like Directed Energy, Swarm drone, Hypersonic weapons.....etc. Targetted timeline for Indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft has been set to be 2027," The IAF chief remarked while mapping out the way ahead for his forces.
"Our vision is to continue to scale up our combat capability and credibility as a force to reckon through modernisation and operational training and substantially increase indigenous equipment to achieve self-reliance and strategic autonomy," he said.
"We've placed our trust in Light Combat Aircraft and in next 5 years we'll commence induction of 83 LCA Mark 1As. We're supportive of DRDO and HAL's effort in their indigenous production & you'll soon see the contracts for HTT-40 and Light Combat Helicopter in this area," he added further.
India and China are locked in a five-month-long bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh that has significantly strained their ties.
Both sides have held a series of diplomatic and military talks to resolve the row.
However, no breakthrough has been achieved to end the standoff.
The armies of the two countries are scheduled to hold a fresh round of talks on October 12 with a specific agenda of firming up a roadmap for disengagement of troops from the friction points.
India has already deployed thousands of troops and heavy weaponry in the high-altitude region to deal with any eventualities.
The IAF has already deployed almost all its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the key frontier air bases in eastern Ladakh and elsewhere along the Line of Actual Control.
The newly inducted fleet of five Rafale jets has also been carrying out sorties in eastern Ladakh.
The IAF has also been carrying out night time combat air patrols over the eastern Ladakh region in an apparent message to China that it was ready to deal with any eventuality in the mountainous region.
Following the last round of military talks on September 21, the two armies announced a slew of decisions including not to send more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground and avoid taking any action that may further complicate matters.
The military talks were held with a specific agenda of exploring ways to implement a five-point agreement reached between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a meeting in Moscow on September 10 on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) conclave.
The pact included measures like quick disengagement of troops, avoiding action that could escalate tensions, adherence to all agreements and protocols on border management and steps to restore peace along the LAC.
(With Inputs From ENS and Agencies)