MiG 29 crashes in Himachal, Indian Air Force begins search

A MiG 29 crashed in Himachal Pradesh's Lahaul Valley, police said on Wednesday. Two Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters began a search operation to locate the wreckage of the aircraft in the treacherous mountain terrain.

There is no official confirmation about the number of people on board the aircraft that crashed during a night flying exercise in Lahaul and Spiti district Tuesday.

"Two small choppers have arrived from the IAF base in Udhampur (in Jammu and Kashmir) and started recce. Still no aircraft fuselage has been reported," Deputy Superintendent of Police Khajana Ram told reporters.

He said a team of rescue workers, comprising police personnel, had also been rushed to the hilltop spot to start the search operation. The accident spot is quite treacherous and inaccessible.

Superintendent of Police Bimal Gupta said a communication was received from the IAF at around 8.30 p.m. Tuesday that a MiG 29 has crashed.

"A team of rescue workers has reached Chokhang village from where they have started trudging up the mountain to reach the accident spot. By evening the team is likely to reach the spot," he said.

The hilltop is totally devoid of forest and there are chances that the wreckage could be located easily, Gupta said.

Chokhang village on the Keylong-Udaipur highway is about 40 km from the district headquarters of Keylong and 450 km from here.

"We have no information about the number of people on board the aircraft," Deputy Commissioner Rajeev Shankar said.

Eyewitnesses told police that they noticed a fireball in the sky and heard a loud sound on Tuesday night.

Courtesy:http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/mig-29-crashes-in-himachal-indian-air-force-begins-search-142474

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Navy completes three-day exercise off Vizag coast

Indian Navy on Friday completed a three-day exercise off the coast of Vishakhapatnam to plug any possible loopholes in its coastal-security network in the post 26/11 scenario.


"The exercise has further strengthened our coastal security preparedness. The basic purpose of the exercise was to check on-ground coordination between all the stake holders of maritime and coastal security network," Navy officials said here.

During the exercise, naval vessels conducted manoeuvres and drills to coordinate efforts of agencies involved in maritime security to keep an eye over maritime routes and suspicious fishing vessels.

These vessels also practised their response to any 26/11 type attack on coastal cities. The exercise was coordinated by the Joint Operations Centre headed by the Navy there.

On Wednesday, Defence Minister A K Antony while addressing the Naval Commanders Conference here, had asked the Navy to conduct regular drills and exercises to plug all the loopholes in maritime and coastal security network.

"Several security exercises and awareness drives have been conducted by the Navy, Coast Guard, Marine police of coastal states to sensitise the fishing community about threats from the sea. Such exercises must be replicated as frequently as possible," Antony had said.

Meanwhile, addressing the conference today, Admiral Nirmal Verma highlighted the role of Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

"Navy has continued to maintain and sustain a high operational tempo while dealing with a large number of tasks and missions, including anti-piracy and coastal security operations," he said.

Verma said these responsibilities are in addition to the traditional missions and tasks performed by the Navy which includes overseas deployments and bilateral exercises-cum- surveillance missions in the IOR.

He told the Naval commanders that the primary challenge confronting the Navy was to balance its resources, build human capital and a requisite strategy so as to be responsive to the full spectrum of operations.

Courtesy:http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/navy-completes-three-day-exercise-off-vizag-coast_736628.html

Mohanlal under Indian Army scanner

Two years after feting him with honorary Lieutenant Colonel's rank, the Territorial Army has taken serious note of reports that Malayalam movie star Mohanlal had allegedly misused his uniform for commercial purposes in Kerala government advertisements to promote tourism. The actor has denied the allegation.

Officers at the Army Headquarters here said they have received reports that Mohanlal, considered to be one of Kerala's topmost film actor, had passed off as a war hero in a television advertisement aired in December 2010 and January 2011 during the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival promoted by the state's tourism department.

Courtesy: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-11/news-interviews/30266213_1_honorary-rank-malayalam-movie-star-mohanlal-territorial-army

All IAF helicopters in UN mission withdrawn: Air Chief

Indian Air Force has withdrawn all of its Mi-17 and Mi-35 attack helicopters deployed in the UN missions in Congo and Sudan to provide support for anti-naxal and other humanitarian operations in the country. "We had our detachments operating in Congo and Sudan but based on our own requirements, the UN requirements have been taken back. All our people who were operating these Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters are now back with us," IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne said here. The IAF had deployed around 20 Mi-17s and over 10 Mi-35 helicopters in the UN operations which were providing close air support to the ground troops operating in the two trouble torn countries. The IAF had last year decided to withdraw all its aerial assets from the UN operations in view of the requirements in supporting Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) in anti-naxal operations in Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand. The IAF Chief said the Mi-35 choppers have been deployed in the desert sector along Pakistan border in Suratgarh whereas the Mi-17s have been provided to units deployed in Eastern and Central commands of the force. It has also deployed two additional Mi-17 helicopters in Ranchi for supporting anti-naxal operations in Jharkhand. The IAF has plans of procuring over 230 helicopters including heavy, medium and light utility and attack choppers in the near future from different sources.
Courtesy: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/all-iaf-helicopters-in-un-mission-withdrawn-air-chief/861685.html

IAF to procure bird radars, reduce accident risks

The Indian Air Force is planning to procure and deploy bird detection radars at its various airfields to reduce the risk of accidents caused due to bird hits. "The Defence Ministry intends to procure Bird Detection and Monitoring Radar System to reduce the risk of bird strike in air operations at various airfields," the IAF said in a Request for Information (RFI) document released on its website. The RFI for the acquisition will be issued by the service after it gets response from the manufacturers across the world.

Bird hits are the reason behind at least nine per cent of the aircraft mishaps in the country as several cities and towns have come up close to IAF airfields such as Hindon, Jodhpur, Lohegaon and Agra. The IAF has been taking various steps to reduce the risk of bird hits.

Under former Director General (Air Safety) Air Marshal V K Verma, the force had started various practices across major air bases to check birds getting close to airfields. As per the data released by a Parliamentary panel, the IAF has lost 999 aircraft between 1970 and August this year and human error and technical defects were the main causes behind these crashes. "In 39.5 per cent of the cases, technical defect is the cause and in 39 per cent of the cases, human error has been found to be responsible," the report had said.

courtesy: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_iaf-to-procure-bird-radars-reduce-accident-risks_1599649