India has improved its capabilities to hit targets with precision after the Balakot air strikes and developments in Eastern Ladakh last year after the Galwan Valley clash, IAF chief RKS Bhadauria said here on Tuesday.
The IAF had carried out air strikes in 2019 at terrorist camps in Balakot in Pakistan in retaliation to suicide attack in Kashmir killing 40 CRPF personnel.
In Galwan, 20 Indian army personnel including the commanding officer were killed in a bloody brawl with the Chinese troops.
More than 30 Chinese also were killed but Beijing is yet to make official the number of casualties. In this backdrop, Bhadauria said India's air power capabilities in terms of hitting targets with precision, defending assets and use of new technologies have gone up significantly after the Balakot air strikes and rapid developments in eastern Ladakh following the Galwan Valley clashes.
Making this observation in an address at a leading think-tank meet, the IAF chief said India now has an "edge" in its ability on both the Western and Northern fronts to "react fast, respond fast and hit fast", noting that induction of Rafale jets has helped in bringing the "next level" of operational transformation. About the drone strike on the Jammu airbase, he said the IAF is taking a series of initiatives including procuring next-generation jammers to deal with such challenges and added that the attack would not have been possible if it was attempted two-three months later.Referring to the 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in May, Bhadauria said Israel's use of air power in carrying out operations with surgical precision to achieve its objectives in Gaza against the militant group while ensuring minimum collateral damage was a reflection of the ability of the air assets.Explaining the role of air power, the IAF Chief also talked about the general perception to look at only its offensive role and the general tendency to say "no-no" for its use in certain situations, saying the paradigms and scenarios have shifted and there is a need to keep this in mind.At a seminar last month, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, while referring to the proposed integrated theatre commands, described the Air Force as a "support arm" but Bhadauria disagreed with him, saying airpower has a huge role to play.
