Indian Air Force : Updates & Discussions

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Fighter jets do not discriminate between a man or woman: Avani Chaturvedi – Indian Defence Research Wing

On International Women’s Day, India’s first woman fighter pilot Avani Chaturvedi who holds the distinction to fly solo stressed the need to be efficient and hard working. ?
“Machine doesn’t know your gender. Be it a boy or a girl, you’ve to be competent, the Indian Air Force doesn’t discriminate. To make the 30 mins of sortie work you’ve to do a lot of groundwork, the contribution of the team that supports is immensely important,” Chaturvedi was quoted as saying by ANI.
Flying Officer Chaturvedi also spoke about how her journey of being a fighter pilot has been a learning experience so far.
“I’ve done my schooling from a Hindi medium school. The journey of being a fighter pilot has been about a lot of learning. I’m still in the training phase of being an independent pilot,” she further said.
Chaturvedi created history on February this year by becoming the first Indian woman fighter pilot to fly solo. She flew a MiG-21 Bison in her first training solo sortie, in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
She was declared as the first combat pilot along with two of her cohort, Mohana Singh, and Bhawana Kanth. The trio was inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron on June 18, 2016. They were formally commissioned by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.
 
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Kedarnath, Uttarakhand - Another bird down. Tail boom broken, likely to be scavenged.

Uttarakhand: Four, including IAF pilot, injured in Mi-17 helicopter crash landing at Kedarnath helipad
 
Latif: Patriot who got Indian Air Force soaring
Air Chief Marshal Idris Hasan Latif, who passed away on Monday at the age of 94, was perhaps the only officer associated with three different air forces and participated in several battles, including World War II.

Born on June 9, 1923, Latif was commissioned into the air force in January 1942. He served in the Royal Indian Air Force and Royal Air Force before being part of the Indian Air Force. He also trained pilots of the Indonesian Air Force. Latif is the only Muslim to have served as the head of any of the three wings of the Indian armed forces.

A product of Nizam’s College, Latif was appointed to the top post in the Indian Air Force on September 1, 1978 on the retirement of Air Chief Marshal H Moolgavkar. He retired from the service on August 31, 1981.

Latif was decorated with Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 1971 for his role in the 1971 India-Pakistan war. He was instrumental in the procurement of Jaguar strike aircraft, MiG-23 and MiG-25 aircraft. After retiring from IAF, Latif was appointed as governor of Maharashtra and also served as Indian ambassador to France.

Latif was associated with a number of philanthropic activities. P Anuradha Reddy, city historian and an authority on Indian aviation, described Latif as a “great human being”. “Latif was a patriot to the core. He had rare qualities,” she said. At the time of partition, he chose IAF though he was reportedly urged by some to join the Pakistan Air Force. Latif was instrumental in modernising the Indian Air Force.
Latif: Patriot who got Indian Air Force soaring - Times of India
 
Unrestricted night flights to Chandigarh from 2019: IAF
Currently undergoing runway expansion, Chandigarh International Airport may offer unrestricted night flights from August 2019 after the authorities complete third phase of expansion, an Indian Airforce spokesperson said on Wednesday.

He said phase III expansion involves fitment of runway lights and other navigational aids. Completion of phase III would permit unrestricted day and night operations at Chandigarh airfields. Completion of phase III is envisaged in the first half of 2019.

"Airport Authority of India (AAI) is assessing feasibility of fitment of Category III Instrument Landing System (ILS) on one of the runways at Chandigarh. While Category III ILS permits operations down to 100 m visibility, it also demands isolation of larger tracts of critical areas. This would involve procurement of real estate from Punjab and Chandigarh. This issue is being addressed by AAI and CHIAL," Airforce spokesperson said.

The Air Force spokesperson said the airport has been shut for 20 days to complete second phase of expansion which involves improvements and extension of runway ends to extend the runway from the existing 9000 ft to 12400 ft.

"During this phase while flight operations would continue during the day, the length of usable runway would be restricted from 7200 to 8000 ft. Completion of Phase II (approximately by 2018) would permit regular day operations on an extended runway length," the spokesperson said.

Phase I work is still going on during the night and on Sundays. The target is improvement of 7200 ft of bitumen surface of the runway which involves laying eight separate layers of Dense Asphaltic Concrete (DAC).The process should get over by May 18, subject to weather and regular availability of raw material. End of Phase I will provide longer day operating hours for flights operations.

The spokesperson said that due to its proximity to the hills, visibility at Chandigarh was better as compared to Amritsar and Delhi.

Data collected during the last decade reveals that the visibility at Chandigarh drops below 350 m only during the last week of December and first week of January and February. The average time where the visibility is below 350 m is three hours a day for 10 days in January, and four days each in December and February.

"Chandigarh runway has a restricted Category I ILS System which permits operations down to 1200m visibility. As part of airfield improvement, IAF is installing a Category II ILS system which will permit operations down to 350 m visibility," the spokesperson said.
Unrestricted night flights to Chandigarh from 2019: IAF