IAF With Rafale, Sukhoi And Chinooks Begins Massive Exercise In Eastern Sector

The Indian Air Force's (IAF) Eastern Air Command is to conduct a major two-day exercise beginning Thursday to test its warfighting capabilities and tactics.

The exercise, planned much earlier, comes when tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have risen again following the 9 December clash between soldiers from China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the Indian Army.

According to sources, the Chinese have increased their alertness in the aftermath of the IAF exercise and have deployed airborne early-warning aircraft at its Shigatse airport.

Damien Symon, the popular Twitter handle @detresfa, has mapped the increased Chinese activity, which includes the high deployment of long-range surveillance drones, among other things.

Frequent Chinese exercises had previously forced the IAF to scramble fighter jets after its air defence systems and radars detected the neighbour's air presence near the LAC but within their own air space.

According to sources, the upcoming air exercise will be at the command level and will activate all assets under it. The Eastern Air Command is holding the exercise to validate its tactics in a specific scenario and all IAF assets will be operational.

They said that the aircraft in action would include the Rafale, which would be based in Hasimara, West Bengal as well as the Su-30 MKI.

Sources also said the focus of the exercise was to confirm how quickly offensive and defence tactics could come into play in a particular scenario, however, refused to go into specifics about the scenario, only stating that there would be more than one.

All of its bases in the Eastern Command, including those in Assam's Tezpur, Chhabua, Jorhat and Panagarh would be activated as part of the exercise.

According to sources, the exercise has two components: defensive manoeuvres (activating air defence assets) and offensive manoeuvres and the exercise would include operations in scenarios involving early warning airborne aircraft as well as operations in the dark.

According to a media report, the IAF has been on full operational alert since tensions rose at the LAC in 2020, and has made several changes in its deployment and functional structures to combat any Chinese threat.

According to sources, the IAF has deployed a complete offensive and defensive force to counter China's “Anti Access Area Denial (A2AD)” strategy.

Chinese air activity along the LAC has increased since the middle of this year, causing some frayed nerves in the two air forces.

In August, senior Air Force officers from India and China even held maiden talks to cool tempers. No fighter aircraft or armed helicopter may fly within 10 kilometres of the LAC, according to an agreement between India and China. Logistics helicopters have a one-kilometre range.