- Vice-Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal AP Singh was the chief guest
- The Vayu Shakti 2024 demonstration and exercise will be held on Saturday, February 17 at the Pokhran range
- The twin objectives of the exercise were to “showcase the full spectrum of operations” that the IAF can undertake “in a realistic scenario” and market the indigenously manufactured defence products like Tejas, tankers and Surface to Air Weapon systems in Akash and Samar among friendly countries
- Aiming to increase the curiosity of youth to join the Defence Forces in service of the Mother Land, over 100 NCC Cadets were accommodated in the firepower display area
R MANICKAVASAGAM
JAISALMER, FEB 16
The Indian Air Force (IAF) daredevils on Wednesday showcased spectacular precision fire power at the full dress day-and-night rehearsal for Vayu Shakti 2024 exercise in Chandan area at Pokhran field firing range in Jaisalmer.
The twin objectives of the exercise were to “showcase the full spectrum of operations” that the IAF can undertake “in a realistic scenario” and market the indigenously manufactured defence products like Tejas, tankers and Surface to Air Weapon systems in Akash and Samar among friendly countries.
The Vayu Shakti 2024 demonstration and exercise will be held on February 17 at the Pokhran range.
The 2-hour-15-minute-long full day-and-night rehearsal exercise began at dusk and saw the participation of over 120 aircraft, including 77 fighter planes, 41 helicopters and five transport aircraft.
Vice-Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal AP Singh was the chief guest. He was welcomed by Southern Western Air Command (SWAC) Chief Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari. Vice Air Marshal Manish Khanna, senior officers from all three services – IAF, Army, Navy along with veterans and Defence officers from the friendly countries, Rajasthan ministers were present at this event.
Aiming to increase the curiosity of youth to join the Defence Forces in service of the Mother Land, over 100 NCC Cadets were accommodated in the firepower display area. They observed the heroics of the IAF and Army personnel in close quarters and realized the job opportunities in defending the nation.
The exercise featured several firsts, such as the debut of the Rafale fighter, which sped past at 1300 km supersonic speed and the indigenously developed Tejas fighter plane firing air-to-air missile to bring down an intruding aircraft of the enemy, Prachanda Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Chinook, and the Apache attack helicopter. In a first, the C17 transport aircraft was seen dropping ammunition on an ordnance depot of enemy target to end supplies to its forces.
Aircraft such as Mirage-2000, MiG, Su-30, Jaguar, Hawk, C130, and Mi-17 were also seen taking part in the demonstration.
The exercise demonstrated indigenous Surface Air Weapon systems in Akash and Samar. The weapon systems highlighted their ability to track and shoot down intruding aircraft with precision, underlining India’s growing self-reliance in defence technology.
Two C130 Hercules choppers air-dropped Garud Special Force commandos to rescue the hostages from terrorists at a hideout after annihilating them. This live demo had thrown light on the counter-terror activities of the forces despite the high risks in challenging situations. A Chinook helicopter carried an M777 Howitzer gun to support the Army fighting on the ground.
Many daredevils jumped off the fighter aircraft from a height of 8,000 metres with their parachutes and landed at their targeted areas to undertake offensive action at the enemy targets.
Vayu Shakti is a triennial exercise in which the armed forces show off their defensive and offensive capabilities first. The exercises first started in 1954 and were last held in 2022.
The logistics for the Gujarat media to visit Pokhran was extended by Wing Commander Manish,Defence PRO Gujarat and his team
