39 years ago today, the @adgpi & the IAF launched Op Meghdoot- what has come to be the highest battlefield in the world. Operations continue there till date - well beyond the limits of man & machine. The following account is as had been recalled by AVM A Dalaya, then AOC (J&K).
Preparations for the op started six weeks before D-Day on 13 Apr 84. The plan entailed landing 30 troops at Bilafond La Pass on the first day & another 30 to Siala Pass the next day. Seven camps were then to be set up along the 80 km Siachen Glacier at the rate of one per day.
The elevations of the two passes was in excess of 18000 ft, thus narrowing down the choice to the Cheetah helicopter which could carry two fully armed jawans, with limited rations & skis. 8 Cheetahs from the 114 HU at Jammu & 131 FAC Flight at Udhampur were thus tasked for the op
The aircrew started training in DBO, away from Siachen, in total secrecy. Snow bowl landings were practiced in snow-bound Dras. Parallely, the IA prepared 8 helipads for Cheetahs & 2 for Mi-8s, at Base Camp (BC), located at an elevation of 11300 ft.
Fuel & Oxygen were flown in to BC by Mi-8, while Leh & Thoise airfields were also geared up for the impending ops. All preparations were completed by D minus 7, with the earmarked 60 troops of 4 Kumaon at BC having been given exposure to helicopter ops.
On D minus 1, Wg Car CS Sandhu, the Cheetah Force Commander (CFC) flew a recce sortie, identifying specific landing areas in Bilafond La & Siala.
Everything was now in place, with a palpable excitement running through the participants who were all to script history the next day.
Sunrise on D-Day was 0603 hrs. As planned, 8 Cheetahs got airborne from Thoise at 0600 hrs, reaching BC at 0640 hrs. A quick refueling later, the CFC & his No 2 got airborne with two jawans each, returning to BC an hour later after inserting the troops 50 yds short of Bilafond La
A swift debrief ensued & the remaining 6 Cheetahs got airborne in pairs over intervals of 3 min. While 12 jawans were landed at Blantond La, another was evacuated due to ill-health. The 3rd wave of Cheetahs got airborne from BC at 0945 hrs, bearing tents for the troops.
The 4th & final wave of 5 Cheetahs took off at 1120 hrs, carrying the remaining load & troops. Over the day, 19 sorties had landed 30 troops & 1175 kg load by 1210 hrs, when the weather started clamping down. Siala had to wait till 16 Apr, but that's a story for another day.
History had been made by the intrepid IAF pilots & brave Kumaonis. 39 years later, Siachen remains the Karma Bhoomi for all IAF helicopter pilots, whose credo remains, "We do the difficult as a routine, the impossible (may) take a bit longer".
Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was on a visit to Defence Services Staff College, Wellington (Nilgiri Hills) to address the faculty and student officers of the Staff Course today.
Around noon today, an IAF Mi 17 V5 helicopter with a crew of 4 members carrying the CDS and 9 other passengers met with a tragic accident near Coonoor, TN.
With deep regret, it has now been ascertained that Gen Bipin Rawat, Mrs Madhulika Rawat and 11 other persons on board have died in the unfortunate accident.
#CAS complimented team BharatShakti.in on their crucial role in promoting indigenisation and self reliance in defence sector and unique settings of the conclave which brought together key players. @BharatShaktiBSI
The CAS put forth the need to build a robust and self reliant indigenous defence capability which could be brought to bear at will to counter a complex security scenario influenced by a 'deep and long term threat' from adversaries. @BharatShaktiBSI
#IAF's Commanders' Conference concluded today. Op preparedness & strategies for the prevailing security scenario across the entire spectrum were discussed. IAF's roadmap for the next decade was deliberated upon & the CAS articulated 'Vision 2030' for the IAF. 1/5
CDS Gen Bipin Rawat, CNS Adm Karambir Singh, & COAS Gen MM Naravane addressed the conference & interacted with Commanders on matters of jointness and integrated war fighting. The CAS stated that it is important to recognise emerging threats in a rapidly changing world. 2/5
The CAS emphasised the need for rapid capacity building & enhanced employability of Air Power.He highlighted the inherent tech advantage of Air Force and underlined the pivotal role indigenisation would play in the development of niche tech & capacity building.3/5 #IndianAirForce
A special flight of IAF comprising of the crew, medical team & support staff departed from Air Force Station, Palam on 26 Feb 20. As a goodwill gesture from Government of India, IAF airlifted approximately 15 tonnes of medical supplies in C-17 Globemaster III to Wuhan, China.
On its return, the same aircraft will retrieve approx 120 personnel+05 children in arms from Wuhan. The returning passengers will mainly comprise of Indian citizens & citizens from friendly foreign countries. It is likely to return on 27 Feb 20 to Air Force Station, Palam.
#Remembering1971: On 03 Dec 1971 at 1747 hours, PAF launched simultaneous attacks on a number of forward IAF bases at Srinagar, Amritsar & Pathankot.
Four of the attacking PAF aircraft were hit by Indian Air Defence, one each over Pathankot, Halwara, Amritsar & a B-57 near Agra.
On 3 Dec 1971 at 11:50 PM, IAF goes into action with retaliatory attacks on Pakistani Airfields.
IAF attacks Chanderi, Shorkot, Murid, Mianwali, Masroor, Risalwala, Changa Manga and Sargodha, hitting a no. of PAF aircraft on ground & sets petrol tanks on fire. #Remembering1971
#Remebering1971 : Early hours of 04 Dec 1971, immediate Close Air Support missions were launched by IAF in support of No.35 Bde in the Hussainiwala area. The strike missions were flown by Su-7 aircrafts and several enemy tanks & gun positions were destroyed by IAF.
#DiaryofEvents: On 27 Feb 19 at around 1000 hrs IAF radars detected a large package of PAF aircraft heading towards the Indian territory towards general area Jhangar. They breached the Indian airspace west of Rajauri in Sunderbani Area. (1/5)
Details on fb.com/IndianAirForce
Ingressing aircraft were observed to be at various levels. IAF fighters including MiG-21Bison, Su-30MKI, Mirage-2000 were tasked to intercept the intruder. PAF aircraft attempting to target military installations, were intercepted by IAF fighters & thwarted their plans. (2/5)
Although PAF bombs have fallen in Indian Army Formation compounds however they were unable to cause any damage to our Military Installations.
In the aerial combat that ensued one F-16 of PAF was shot down by an IAF MiG-21 Bison. The F-16 crashed and fell across the LOC. (3/5)