Air Force to hold massive exercise near LAC amid tension with China

Amid the ongoing standoff with China, the Indian Air Force will carry out an exercise, ‘Pralay’, involving all its major air bases in the northeast including the recently moved drone squadrons, informed officials on Saturday.

The timing of this massive air exercise, which will be held over the next few days, holds great significance, as the Indian Air Force has deployed and activated the S-400 air defence squadron in the area which can take on any enemy aircraft or missile from a distance of up to 400 km.

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The exercise would witness major combat assets of the Air Force like Rafale and Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets activated along with the transport and other aircraft, said the officials.

The Air Force recently moved a squadron of drones from other bases to the northeast to augment its capabilities of monitoring adversary activities along the Sikkim and the Siliguri Corridor sector.

The Chinese side has also stepped its activities along the Doklam area and are under the constant watch of Indian security agencies, as per officials.

This is the second such command-level exercise carried out by the Air Force in recent months. The Indian Air Force’s Eastern Command in Shillong has the entire northeast air space to look after along the China border and frequently scrambles its fighters the moment the Chinese try to fly too close to the LAC or move in a direction towards Indian locations there.

(With inputs from agencies)