A day in the life of Indian Air Force (IAF) Air Warriors at the Indian Air Force Station (AFS), Leh in Ladakh that is in the frontline of dealing with the two-front China and Pakistan threat. Dont Miss ‘The Himalayan Front’, Part VII on Saturday, February 17, 2024. Continuing our series, a StratNews Global team of Amitabh P. Revi, Rohit Pandita and Karan Marwaha document the IAF Mig-29, Sukhoi-MKI and Rafale fighter jets, the C-17 Globemaster, Il-76 and An-32 transport aircraft and the Cheetals of the ‘Siachen Pioneers’ 114 Helicopter Unit in their operations at, to and from the Indian Air Force Station Leh. India has ramped up its military posture along the Northern borders after the deadly 2020 Galwan clashes with China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) forces. And the Indian Air Force Station Leh plays a significant role in that.
‘The Himalayan Frontier’ Part VII
In this episode, we film at the Indian Air Force Station Leh, the Mig-29, Su-MKI and Rafale fighter jets, the C-17, Il-76 and An-32 transport aircraft, the Indian Army Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Rudra and sorties conducted by the Cheetal helicopters, speak to the Air Officer Commanding (AOC), the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 114 Helicopter Unit (HU), Mig-29 and Cheetal pilots and the engineering officer, 114 HU to document the Indian Air Force Station Leh’s operations in the northern Himalayan frontier along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in Eastern and Southern Ladakh and China-occupied Tibet, and in the Siachen Glacier as well as along the Line of Control (LoC) and the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) with Pakistan.
Northern Front Ground Reports
In Part VI, we interviewed Air Commodore D.S.Handa, AOC, Indian Air Force Station Leh on how the IAF is dealing with the two-front China and Pakistan threat in Ladakh. SNG’s team documented their journey to Leh on the strategic third, alternate axis—the Darcha-Padam-Nimu (NPD) Road, in episode III and episode IV. The route provides critical connectivity. In episode V, Lt Gen Raghu Srinivasan, the DG, BRO in an interview on the frozen Zanskar River Chadar Trail at Chiling near Leh in Ladakh noted “the impetus has over the last five or six years been a surge in what we are planning to do and are doing in Ladakh”. In part II of this series, the Indian Army Chief, General Manoj Pande told StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale in an exclusive interview, that talks with China are continuing at both military and diplomatic levels but India is maintaining a robust posture along the LAC. Then Northern Army Commander, now Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Lt Gen. Upendra Dwivedi also told Nitin Gokhale in Part I, that the “situation is stable but sensitive and not normal”.
This episode was first published on February 15, 2024, and hit 300,000 views on YouTube on March 3, 2024.
Also See:
