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Indian Air Force Begins Exercises On The Indo-Pak Borders
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Indian
troops are still building up on the Pakistani borders |
By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, Feb. 19 (IslamOnline) - The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Sunday started
round-the-clock exercises along the Indo-Pak borders as well as the Line of
Control in the Indian-administered Kashmir. Code named "Operation
Trishul", these exercises involve fighter aircraft of the MIG series and
deep penetrating Jaguar planes. The area covered by the IAF Western Command is a
broad arc extending from Bikaner in the western state of Rajasthan to Siachen in
Jammu and Kashmir.
The
IAF exercise is an annual feature, but the difference this year is that it is
being conducted one month ahead of its usual time. The official word on this
significant forward shift, in what could be perceived by Islamabad as an
escalation in New Delhi's sustained military buildup along the Indo-Pak border,
is that logistics dictate amalgamating the exercise with the ongoing troop
concentration in the northern sector, reported PTI.
Another
significant difference this year is that the Western Command's strike aircraft
are already in combat readiness. Operation Trishul involves over 100 aircraft
and includes IAF's latest strike aircraft, the Sukhoi 30. Also participating
will be Jaguars, militarily classified as "deep penetrating strike
aircraft," and the multi-role Mirage fighters.
The
exercise comes only a day after the ruling BJP president Jana Krishnamurthy
asked the central government to increase pressure on Pakistan to stop what India
calls "cross-border terrorism."
"If
pressure from other countries does not stop Pakistan from continuing with
cross-border terrorism, India will be left with no choice but to exert more
pressure on Pakistan to stop exporting terrorism. Certain steps have been taken
by the government of India and it should not hesitate in taking further
steps," Krishnamurthy declared at a press conference at the party
headquarters in New Delhi.
In
another indication of the still hardened Indian approach, the central
Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan said on Saturday that the current
army build up on the borders would not end till Pakistan ended its alleged
support for terrorist activities.
Stating
that talks with Pakistan were futile, Mahajan said that at every given
opportunity Islamabad rakes up the Kashmir issue leaving very little scope for
dialogue on other matters of mutual interest.
In
another significant development, India is preparing for a series of test trials
of the ship-launched Danush missile to give its navy capability to strike land
targets with nuclear or conventional warheads. Buoyed by a successful test
firing of the Trishul missile in sea skimming and anti-missile role after a
series of failures, Defense scientists have revived the project, PTI reported.
Scientists
said Danush is the naval version of the Prithvi missile already under induction
in the army and the air force. Indian defense scientists had put the Danush
missile on the backburner after a series of failures, but now they have been
encouraged by the recent successful launch of the ship-launched Trishul missiles
to go ahead with fresh tests. Danush is expected to hit targets at a range
between 150 and 300 nautical miles.
Labelling
Danush as the "workhorse" weapon of the navy, officials said the
missile will give India the ability to attack land targets on foreign shores
from fast moving naval warships and a great superiority in sea-battles.
Danush
is the naval version of the Prithvi surface-to-surface missile, the only missile
in Indian armory to be operationally deployed and is capable of carrying a
nuclear warhead in addition to fragmentation and fuel-air explosive charges.
Danush missile has a sophisticated inertial navigation system that is expected
to enable it to strike with an accuracy of 50 metres. Danush is not a ballistic
missile but a short-range battlefield missile meant for rapid deployment.
Indian
defense officials said the missile had the necessary design flexibility to carry
a variety of warheads, including nuclear ones. While India's aircraft carrier
INS Viraat and main warships like the Russian-made Kashin-class destroyers and
INS Ranvir are being fitted with the Israeli Barak missiles, the Indian Navy has
decided to fit indigenous Delhi-class destroyers and some frigates with the
Danush missiles. These warships have been modified to carry the Danush missiles
and equipment supporting payloads like the solid fuel and warheads.
Pakistani
scientists too are reportedly seeking permission from their government to test
fire long-range nuclear missile Shaheen-II in retaliation to the recent test
firing of Agni-II by India.
The
scientists reportedly told the Pakistan government that experimental test of
Shaheen-II, Pakistan's long-range missile capable of carrying one ton nuclear
warhead, was very much necessary to conclusively test its parameters, Urdu daily
Jang reported on Sunday quoting officials.
The
test would help accelerate the production of this missile for defense purposes,
it said. Shaheen-II has a range of 2,500 km and is ready for test fire. The
missile works on solid fuel and has the ability to hit its targets in less than
12 minutes, it said.
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