IAF chief says air force needs to prepare for intense, short duration ops

"The current geopolitical situation necessitates the Indian Air Force to prepare for intense and small duration operations at a short notice. This new paradigm of high-intensity operations, coupled with minimal build-up time would require major changes in terms of operational logistics," Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari said.

Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari on Thursday said the current geopolitical situation necessitates the Indian Air Force (IAF) to prepare for intense and short duration operations at a short notice.

Previously, Chaudhari had said there were reports about the use of hypersonic weapons in the Ukraine war and the IAF was also planning to have them in its arsenal. (ANI file photo)

"The current geopolitical situation necessitates the Indian Air Force to prepare for intense and small duration operations at a short notice. This new paradigm of high-intensity operations, coupled with minimal build-up time would require major changes in terms of operational logistics," the air chief marshal said while addressing a seminar.

Chaudhari did not elaborate on the geopolitical situation, but a report by news agency PTI said the IAF chief was referring to the ongoing war in Ukraine which entered the third month, and its possible implications.

He said that logistics support in such a scenario would be extremely challenging because the force has a fairly vast and diversified inventory.

The IAF chief further said there would be a need to prepare the air force for "short swift wars" and be ready for a long-drawn standoff similar to what has been seen in eastern Ladakh.

India and China have been engaged in a long-drawn standoff in eastern Ladakh. Both countries have carried out disengagement of troops from a number of areas after a series of military and diplomatic talks.

Previously, Chaudhari had said there were reports about the use of hypersonic weapons in the Ukraine war and the IAF was also planning to have them in its arsenal.

"Due to very high speeds, hypersonic missiles are difficult to intercept making existing air defence systems redundant. The air force is actively involved in research and development for such weapons and in developing countermeasures," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI on April 12.

Chaudhary also spoke about several aspects of military preparedness and said the way forward would be to have a serviceability-linked inventory management system.

"Flexible stocking policies with modern forecasting techniques would help in demand sensing and prepositioning of items at bases. We must also review our procurement strategies in order to reduce lead time for supplies and preempt problems of supply chain obsolescence," he said during the seminar.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)