Indian Air Force goes on high alert, conducts major exercise

Amid heightened tensions with Pakistan, the Indian Air Force's premier operational command along the western front has gone on high alert.

The primary objective of Exercise Talon involving the crucial Western Air Command (WAC) is to "improve operational preparedness and air defence" in the entire stretch from Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir to Rajasthan, according to defence sources.



"The exercise also involves camouflaging runways, moving aircraft to  blast pens and deploying decoys to prevent or minimise losses during enemy attacks. IAF's automated air defence network with a wide variety of radars and date links or the IACCS (integrated air command and control system) is also on a high alert," a source told The Times of India.

The Talon exercise will be held till September 30 and seems largely defensive in nature, with combat air patrols and PAD-GD (passive air defence and ground defence) operations. However, the Western Air Command conducted a similar Talon exercise just about a week before the Uri attack on September 18.  According to sources, repeating the intensive manoeuvres within the same month was highly unusual and showed that the IAF was leaving nothing to chance at a time when Pakistan's F-16s and other fighters have been taking to the skies on a regular basis across the border, apart from practising landing on highways.



The Indian Army has been refining different contingency plans in conjunction with the IAF after the Uri attack to further synergise the integrated air-land fighting machinery, even as the force has also steadily upgraded its "readiness" all along the 778-kilometre line of control with additional troops, "forward movement" of ammunition and fuel dumps, according to Times of India.

Top-level military meetings have also been held over the past week with detailed presentations being given to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in the military operations directorate in South Block. In addition to Western Air Command Chief Air Marshal SB Deo visiting different airbases under his command, chiefs of the Army's South-Western Command (Jaipur), Western Command (Chandimandir) and Northern Command (Udhampur) have also been reviewing their areas of responsibility.



Western Command chief Lt-General Surinder Singh visited the Jammu-Pathankot region over the weekend to direct his commanders to "maintain a high order of operational preparedness and alertness." According to a source, "All personnel have been told to be available at short notice."

This article originally appeared on Times of India.