Early morning on Tuesday, 18 December, the Indian Air Force (IAF) tested its own rapid airlift capability.
A fleet of 16 fixed wing transport aircraft, belonging to the Air Force, took flight from the Chandigarh base, an IAF statement said.
These aircraft collectively carried 463 tonnes of load from Chandigarh to Ladakh in under six hours in one single wave. This demonstration has set a new record, according to the IAF statement. The aircraft involved in the transportation include the C-17 Globemaster, the Ilyushin-76 Gajraj and the medium-lift tactical aircraft Antonov-32.
Rapid air mobility is especially important in short and intense wars, according to Air Marshall NJS Dhillon (Senior Air Staff Officer of Western Air Command), under whose direction this test was carried out. This type of capability, therefore, has become crucial to modern warfare, he stated.
He added that the IAF’s airlift capacity has also come in handy during natural disasters in the past.
“...With a wide spectrum of military transport aircraft in its inventory, the IAF today has a credible airlift capability which has provided succour on numerous occasions when the nation was struck with natural calamities.”Air Marshall NJS Dhillon, Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) of Western Air Command as quoted in a statement released by the Indian Air Force
This rapid airlift of close to 500 tonnes was carried out by the Western Air Command of the Indian Air Force. This command is responsible for the aerial territory of the whole of India’s northern region, and under normal operating circumstances, it airlifts almost 3,000 tonnes of load each month.
Visuals of some of the aircraft used on Tuesday morning are in the tweet below, shared by the security news organisation, Delhi Defence Review:
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