New Delhi, 27 July: A high alert has been issued for the Indian Armed Forces following the increase in the activities of the Chinese Air Force along the eastern Ladakh border and the latest mobilization of the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force in several areas.
The highest level of military leadership along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh is regularly taking stock of the situation.
The Indian Air Force has decided to deploy a squadron of Tejas Mk-1 ‘Flying Daggers’ to counter Chinese fighter jets in an area that has escalated tensions with China on the eastern front.
The deployment and flights of Chinese fighter jets in other areas like Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh have increased since mid-June along the 3,488-km-long LAC. The activities of Chinese fighter jets have increased on the eastern Ladakh front within the last one month.
The Chinese jets first took off near Indian posts in eastern Ladakh on June 28, forcing the Indian Air Force to activate its jets. On July 24, Chinese fighter aircraft flew 10 km into the Indian territory. In view of these antics by China, the Indian Air Force has also been kept on alert.
China has upgraded all its major airports like Hotan, Kashgar, Gargunsa, and Shigatse facing India in the last two years. In response to this, India has also deployed fighter aircraft like the Rafale, Sukhoi-30, Jaguar, and MiG-21.
A new unit of the Russian Missile Defense System S-400 will also be deployed along the northern border with China in the next two to three months. This surface-to-air missile system will boost India’s capability and the Indian Air Force will be able to detect and destroy enemy fighter aircraft, missiles, and drones at long range.
The IAF has decided to deploy a squadron of Tejas Mk-1 ‘Flying Daggers’ on the Eastern Front to counter the movements of Chinese fighter jets in the area that have escalated tensions with China. The Tejas Mk-1 will be fitted with an advanced short-range air-to-air missile and an Astra Mk-1 air-to-air missile.
The IAF has formed two squadrons, ‘Flying Daggers’ and ‘Flying Bullets’, for Tejas. So far, the IAF has received 25 out of 40 contracted Tejas Mk-1 aircraft. The first lot of 11 other trainer aircraft is expected to be delivered by March next year. The remaining four aircraft are to be supplied to the IAF by mid-2023.
