IAF brass to hold key strategic meet

New Delhi, April 13: The Indian Air Force’s top commanders will hold a bi-annual strategic meet in the national capital later this week for a three-day conference. The meet will focus on strategies to scale up its capabilities to have an edge over its adversaries, the defence ministry said on Monday.

 

Defence minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the biannual IAF commanders’ conference on April 15. The meeting comes at a time when India and China have been engaged in a standoff for over 11 months and are currently negotiating a withdrawal of troops and weapons from friction points on the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. IAF remains in a high state of readiness in the Ladakh sector with newly-inducted Rafale also being deployed there.

 

"The conference of apex-level leadership is aimed at addressing the issues of IAF’s operational capabilities in the times to come. A series of discussions will be conducted to address strategies and policies related to capabilities that will give IAF a significant edge over its adversaries," an official statement said.

 

 

The conference also comes at a time when IAF gearing up to raise its second squadron of Rafale fighter jets at the Hasimara air base in West Bengal. India and China have held 11 rounds of military talks so far to resolve border tensions that began last May. At the latest 11th round of military talks with China on April 9, the Indian Army told the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that completion of disengagement at all friction points was a must for de-escalation of the border conflict.

 

 

The IAF Commanders’ Conference comes at a time India is planning to begin a formal roll-out of its long-awaited theaterisation plan to best utilise its military’s resources amid growing security threats, with the Air Defence Command and the Maritime Theatre Command set to be launched by May. India will also have three other integrated commands to secure its western, northern and eastern fronts — these are likely to be rolled out by December 2022.

 

In addition, a logistics command is in the works to avoid duplication of efforts and resources.