by Ajay Sura
Accepting that terror attack on Pathankot was a setback for the IAF, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha has said that IAF has undergone drastic changes in terms of security of its airfields after learning a lesson from the attack.
AMBALA: Accepting that terror attack on Pathankot was a setback for the IAF, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha has said that IAF has undergone drastic changes in terms of security of its airfields after learning a lesson from the attack.
He said this in Ambala on Thursday where he had gone to attending the Presi dent's standards presentation ceremony.
Interacting with media after the ceremony , he said the country may not see a conventional war in future but the number of incidents like Pathankot may increase. IAF Chief said, "After Pathankot setback, we have improved our capabilities with the introduction of more advanced weapons and trained manpower to meet such eventualities. We have plugged all gaps, which came to fore after the attack. Our airbases are more secure now."
In another question regarding induction of Rafale fighters in IAF, the Air Force Chief said preparation to induct Rafale is on war footings in terms of preparing infrastructure and training of troops in France. He further claimed that two new air force squadrons, possibly in western and eastern sectors, comprising 36 Rafale fighters would be in place in the next 3-5 years to increase IAF's operational capabilities.
He also claimed that preliminary phase to finalize the design for the fourth generation fighter aircraft is over and a further process is going on with an associate country to make it operational for Indian Air Force in the next 7-10 years.