MAINTAIN FULL VIGIL - FERNANDES
The Defence
Minister Shri George Fernandes asked the Air Force Commanders
to maintain the highest state of vigil, keeping in view the present
security environment. The events post 11 September 2001 have made
the world aware of the ugly face of terrorism, something we have
been going through for decades. There is no improvement in the
situation as regards cross border terrorism and our troops will
remain deployed to meet any exigencies. He was addressing the
Air Force Commanders on the inaugural day of week long bi-annual
Commanders Conference.
The Defence
Minister assured that all support from the Government will be
made available in terms of resources and expedient decision making
process to meet the operational requirements of the IAF. The Government
is committed to take immediate action on the short-comings which
have resulted in some delays in the procurement process over the
years and to also ensure that such situation does not arise in
future.
The Defence
Minister said that during his recent visit to Russia important
decisions have been taken to expedite the supply of spares and
also to put in place a monitoring process. He said the issue of
5th generation combat aircraft and multi role medium range transport
aircraft also came up during his visit.
Earlier
the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy in
his presentation outlined the efforts being made to optimise the
operational preparedness of the IAF. He said the conference provides
an ideal opportunity for the IAF to define the road map for the
future, discuss new concepts and to work out ways to manage our
resources well when the forces are deployed. He said, despite
deployment, the IAF was able to improve the total flying effort
during the last financial year vis-à-vis the previous year.
The focus would now be on higher serviceability state of the equipment
which is expected to result in further enhanced operational status.
Air Officers
Commanding-in-Chief of the seven Air Force commands and the Principal
Staff Officers at Air Headquarters attend the bi-annual Commanders
Conference. This provides an opportunity for the Commanders to
review the operational plans in keeping with the changing security
scenario.
