IAF Tezpur Base; Centre Of Chain To Foil Any Chinese Intrusion In The East

IAF Tezpur Base: In the second part of our series, ‘Eastern Front Airpower’, above all, we document 24 hours in the professional life of the air warriors of Indian Air Force Station, Tezpur in the Eastern Air Command. This documentary, filmed on the IAF base in Tezpur and other stations and areas in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, above all, looks at India’s Airpower to counter China in the East. After interviewing Air Commodore V.J. Singh, the  Air Officer commanding the station, in Part II, the StratNews Global team of Amitabh P. Revi and Rohit Pandita, films operations, in particular Sukhoi-30 MKI frontline fighter sorties, and speaks to air warriors on the base.

Significantly, giving overall perspective in this documentary is Air Marshal D.K. Patnaik, the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command from October 2021 to September 2022. He says firstly, “All airfields east of the chicken’s neck, are at a distance of about 150 to 200 kilometers from the Line of Actual Control. Secondly, Tezpur is the centre of this chain of airfields. Their role chiefly is to defend in case of any likely intrusions during peacetime. For other occasions, we have plans in place using all the airfields.” Thirdly, the Former AOC-in-C adds, “should the enemy decide to come, there are only a few places from where they will come. Fourthly, for a ground force, which is wanting to come, it’s not a cakewalk. Lastly, the Air Force has reached a stage where we’re not going to allow them a happy movement.”

You can also watch our special series from Eastern Ladakh and Siachen; The Himalayan Frontier. In Episode VII we look at Shakti & Shanti (Power & Peace) in Ladakh. We record a day in the life of the Indian Air Force’s Air Warriors at the Air Force Station (AFS), Leh. In Episode X, we document the Indian Air Force Station Thoise and its gravity for India’s deterrence against the Pakistan-China two-front threat.