The Indian Air Force, with highly trained crews, pilots, and access to modern military assets provides India with the capacity to provide rapid response, evacuation, search-and-rescue (SAR) operations, and delivery of relief supplies to affected areas via cargo aircraft. The IAF provided extensive assistance to relief operations during natural calamities such as the Gujarat cyclone in 1998, the tsunami in 2004, and the North India floods in 2013......
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian
Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct
aerial warfare during armed conflicts. India salutes the mighty guardians of
the sky who keep vigil throughout the day and night to keep our nation safe
from any danger or enemy attack from the sky. Here are some interesting and fascinating facts
about the Indian Air Force.
October 8 is celebrated as Air Force Day because on
this day in 1932, India’s Air Force was officially raised as the supporting
force of the British Royal Air Force. India’s first operational squadron came
into being in April 1933. After India gained independence from United Kingdom
in 1947, the name Royal Indian Air Force was kept, and served in the name of
the Dominion of India. With the transition to a republic in 1950, the prefix
Royal was removed.
From 6 RAF-trained officers and 19 Havai Sepoys (air
soldiers) back in 1933, IAF is ranked fourth largest operational air force in
the world with a strength of around 1,70,000 personnel and over 1,500 aircraft.
Only the USA, China, and Russia are ahead of India. Indian Air Force is the fourth largest air force in the world. The motto of IAF is Nabha Sparsham Deeptam, which
translates from Sanskrit, meaning Touch the sky with Glory. The motto has been
taken from the 11th chapter of the Bhagvad Gita and the force tries to live up
to this motto.
Air Marshal Padmavathy Bandopadhyay became the first
Indian woman to be Air Marshal of the IAF and the second military servicewoman
to rise to the three-star rank. She has written a book about her service years
called The Lady in Blue: The Memoirs of India’s First Lady Air Marshal. Presently women are seen in different departments, including women fighter pilots.
IAF landed the C-130J Super Hercules plane at Daulat
Beg Oldie airstrip in Ladakh, which is the world’s highest airstrip. With this,
IAF created the record for the highest landing by an aircraft of this class at
a height of 16,614 feet above sea level.
IAF achieved another feat by airlifting a record
number of around 20,000 civilians during Operation Rahat, during the floods in
Uttarakhand in 2013. In a matter of 65 days, the IAF airlifted 23,892 civilians
and carried 797.589 T of valuable relief material. Apart from this the air force has participated in rescue mission, helped in disasters and provided relief in remote areas.
The Tajik Connection: Gissar Military Aerodrome (GMA)
is India’s first overseas base and is located west of the Tajik capital,
Dushanbe. It is jointly managed by India and Tajikistan. The airbase was
recently used by the IAF to evacuate Indian and Nepalese nationals from
Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover of Kabul. This is a strategic air base for India.
Since 1950, the IAF has been involved in four wars
with neighbouring Pakistan. Other major operations undertaken by the IAF
include Operation Vijay, Operation Meghdoot, Operation Cactus, and Operation
Poomalai. The IAF's mission expands beyond engagement with hostile forces, with
the IAF participating in United Nations peacekeeping missions. Here one should remember that Flying Officer Nirmal
Jit Singh Sekhon is the only IAF officer to receive the Param Vir Chakra, the
highest military bravery award. He was posthumously awarded for the bravery and
valor that he portrayed while defending the Srinagar Air Base during the
Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. He was martyred at the age of 28.
The President of India holds the rank of Supreme
Commander of the IAF. As of July 1, 2017, 1,70,576 personnel are in service
with the Indian Air Force. The Chief of the Air Staff, an air chief marshal, is
a four-star officer and is responsible for the bulk of operational command for
the Air Force. There is never more than one serving ACM at any given time in
the IAF. The rank of Marshal of the Air Force has been conferred by the
President of India on one occasion in history, to Arjan Singh. On January 26, 2002,
Singh became the first and, so far, only five-star rank officer of the IAF.
The Indian Air Force, with highly trained crews,
pilots, and access to modern military assets provides India with the capacity
to provide rapid response, evacuation, search-and-rescue (SAR) operations, and
delivery of relief supplies to affected areas via cargo aircraft. The IAF
provided extensive assistance to relief operations during natural calamities
such as the Gujarat cyclone in 1998, the tsunami in 2004, and the North India
floods in 2013. The IAF has also undertaken relief missions such as Operation
Rainbow in Sri Lanka.
IAF bears the responsibility of safeguarding Indian
airspace and thus furthering national interests in conjunction with the other
branches of the armed forces. The IAF provides close air support to the Indian
Army troops on the battlefield as well as strategic and tactical airlift
capabilities. The Integrated Space Cell is operated by the Indian Armed Forces,
the civilian Department of Space, and the Indian Space Research Organisation.
By uniting the civilian run space exploration organizations and the military
faculty under a single Integrated Space Cell, the military is able to
efficiently benefit from innovation in the civilian sector of space
exploration, and the civilian departments benefit as well.
Tejas is in the news again. First batch of 16 revamped
Tejas to serve IAF. The Tejas Mark-1A Fighter Aircraft takes flight from the
Hindustan Aeronautics facility in Bengaluru to protect the nation.
With the Indian Air Force (IAF) having placed a Rs
48,000 crore order for 83 indigenous Tejas Mark 1A light combat aircraft (LCA)
from Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) in February 2021, the Bengaluru-headquartered
aerospace manufacturer is gearing up to deliver the first improved variant of
the fighter this year.
With the first Tejas Mark 1A fighter having
successfully test-flown in March, HAL’s chief says the first delivery will be
completed "in the next few months." Thereafter, the production of 180
Tejas Mark 1A fighters and successive variants will generate the bulk of HAL’s
income for the foreseeable future. Finally, we will get to see Tejas in action.
A made-in-India fighter in the sky!
If
you feel that Aneela Nike Post is making a difference to your life, do take a
minute to consider a comment or contribution. We would also value your
suggestions as how to make ourselves more relevant to you. Please write to akn929@yahoo.com to give
your valuable feedback.
In 1975, Bates introduced a constitution for Sealand, followed by a national flag, a national anthem, a currency, passports, and an immigration stamp, all the features of an independent country.....
I bet most of you have not heard about Sealand. It’s
considered to be the tiniest country on Earth. The Principality of Sealand is a
micronation on HM Fort Roughs, an offshore platform in the North Sea
approximately 12 kilometers off the coast of Suffolk, England. Roughs Tower was occupied in February and August 1965
by Jack Moore and his daughter Jane, squatting on behalf of the pirate station
Wonderful Radio London.
On 2 September 1967, the fort was occupied by Major
Paddy Roy Bates, a British citizen who was the owner of a pirate radio, who
ejected the competing group of pirate broadcasters. Bates intended to broadcast
his pirate radio station, called Radio Essex, from the platform. Despite having
the necessary equipment, he never began broadcasting. Bates declared the
independence of Roughs Tower and deemed it the Principality of Sealand, an
independent entity.
In 1968, British workmen entered what Bates claimed to
be his territorial waters to service a navigational buoy near the platform.
Michael Bates (son of Paddy Roy Bates) tried to scare the workmen off by firing
warning shots from the fort. As Bates was a British subject at the time, he was
summoned to court in England on firearms charges following the incident. The
court ruled that the platform (which Bates was now calling Sealand) was outside
British territorial limits, being beyond the 3-nautical-mile (6 km) limit which
then applied to the country's waters. As a result, the case could not proceed
as it was not within British jurisdiction. Bates considers this Sealand's first
instance of de facto recognition.
In 1975, Bates introduced a constitution for Sealand,
followed by a national flag, a national anthem, a currency, passports, and an
immigration stamp, all the features required for an independent country. Sealand, is the smallest nation in the world. It is
located 12 kilometers off the eastern shore of Britain. As the name suggests,
this platform nation is surrounded by water on all sides. Officially known as
the Principality of Sealand, the nation is spread across 550 square meters and
home to merely 27 people.
During World War II, the British government built
several fortress islands in the North Sea to defend its coasts from German
invaders, and among these islands was Roughs Tower, now known as the
Principality of Sealand. In the early 1960s, a British army official, Roy
Bates, established a radio station, situated offshore on an abandoned ex-naval
fort named Knock John, in an attempt to bypass the broadcasting restrictions of
the BBC. However, he was soon embroiled in a legal battle with the UK
government that questioned the legality of the occupation of the fort. Bates
lost the case against the British government, as it was ruled that Knock John
fell under UK jurisdiction.
Learning from the ruling, Bates occupied Roughs Tower,
which was identical to Knock John, but fell outside of the 3-mile limit to
which the UK jurisdiction extended. He then declared it an independent state of
Sealand. The statehood of the smallest nation has faced challenges posed by the
UK forces, the Germans, and even the Dutch, but the small nation has emerged
victorious in protecting itself each time. In 1975, Prince Roy proclaimed the Constitution of the
Principality of Sealand. Gradually, other national treasures were also
developed, like its national anthem, stamps, and gold and silver coins.
Principality of Sealand passports were also produced and issued to many of
those who contributed to the formation of the nation.
Sealand claims to have achieved the status of being
one of the most environmentally friendly countries on Earth. It states that
99.9% of its electricity is from renewables, using a combination of wind
turbines and solar panels. It was more or less self-sufficient and they believed in being an independent principality. Bates and his associates have repelled incursions from
vessels from rival pirate radio stations and the U.K.'s royal navy using
firearms and petrol bombs. In 1987, the United Kingdom extended its territorial
waters to 12 nautical miles, which places the platform in British territory.
I went to meet my friend Gomes, whom we in fun would call - Go
Patrao. He was enjoying his evening peg, feni as usual. He invited me to join.
Didn't want to disappoint him, and agreed for a peg.
During our casual talk about mundane subjects, the talk veered to
politics and rain. I told him, Goa is still riddled with potholes and some
areas have been dug up since long. He immediately smiled and said, it's a sign
of progress and prosperity.
I didn't understand, he quickly added, Goa will be richer than
Dubai. You and me will be richer. Everyone knows it, how come you're not aware.
I gave him a surprised look. He said, some time ago, an expert said, underneath
Goa there's oil. So, you have holes and potholes with people desperately
looking for the oil.
Another expert said, there's a lost civilization underneath. Hence
all the digging to find them. All want to know who were those guys who taught
Goans, take it easy and chalta hai!
If
you feel that Aneela Nike Post is making a difference to your life, do take a
minute to consider a comment or contribution. We would also value your
suggestions as how to make ourselves more relevant to you. Please write to akn929@yahoo.com to give
your valuable feedback.
