Monday, Jun 28, 2004
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India & World
By Sandeep Dikshit
RAF VALLEY (WALES), JUNE 27. "I'll lose my job if this thing is not ready by month-end," says Mark Green, Station Commander of the "busiest" Royal Air Force base, his hands sweeping across a modest structure coming up between the officers' mess and a privately-owned simulator facility. Group Captain Green has been tasked with getting the office ready by June 30 when the Chief of the Air Staff, S. Krishnaswamy, arrives here to inaugurate the longest-ever training course for Indian armed forces personnel on foreign soil. The first course begins on July 5 this year and the last batch will arrive in February 22, 2008. The students will first train with the 208 squadron and then shift to the 19th squadron to learn about battlefield tactics and the use of weapons. As it will take at least three years for the first contracted Hawk advanced jet trainer (AJT) to arrive in India and another six months to assemble a complete squadron, IAF students in the meantime are being taken off from the risk-prone MiG-21s and sent here for training on RAF Hawks. The training course at the British base will be an attempt at transition in several areas. First of all is the comfort factor. The cockpits of the Hawk AJTs allow trainees to familiarise themselves with the nuances of flying super-fast aircraft in an ambience of near-total safety. RAF's trainee pilots cannot believe the risks taken by their IAF counterparts. The high-landing and take-off speeds of MiG-21s do not have the leeway for a small pilot error leading to crashes. The suspect all-weather capability of the aircraft has also led to fatal crashes. In contrast, this training base logs over 66,000 airfield movements every year. Yet, N. Clifford, heading the 19th fighter squadron, cannot recall a fatality despite years of training pilots in front-line battlefield tactics. Authorities have planned an elaborate menu of extra-curricular activity to keep boredom away but there will be room for picking up useful tips such as how to avoid bird damage. The Welsh National Bird Sanctuary skirts the air force base for a considerable distance. With environmental organisations keeping a close watch, the RAF spends considerable money in coming up with safe and civil tactics to prevent birds from creating unsafe flying conditions. The IAF pilots would have learnt the basics of air force grammar on slower trainer aircraft. The stint at RAF Valley will steel them for the harsher world of high performance fighter aircraft that demand brilliant piloting skills. Group Captain Green calls the hills and meadows of Wales as a "vast piece of real estate for general flying" that provide a "demanding environment" for training. It will also offer a different culture from the one back home. A civilian caterer runs the officers' mess; the aircraft are serviced and repaired by Babcock & Co who replaced the previous contractor in competitive bidding six months back. The huge darkened domes housing virtual cockpits and twin 3-D flying arenas operate on a pay-as-you-use principle. The rates range from £500 to 800 an hour and its private sector manager talks of maintaining facility usage at 85 per cent to reach the break-even mark. The courses and number of flying training hours are part of the multi-billion dollar deal signed by the Government for purchasing British Aerospace Systems' 66 Hawk AJTs. There is no scope for a free lunch. The IAF pilots will not be taught how to "dive-bomb." There is less value in paying for this type of training as the MiG-21 sighting system differs from the one on the Hawk. There is no point in paying for this session because IAF pilots will have to re-learn dive-bombing on different sighting system of the MiG-2. But the contract will lessen the unwarranted risks being taken to train pilots in India. It will stop the Tezpur-based IAF training unit students from complaining to visiting journalists about the lack of marriage proposals just because they are being taught on MiG-21s.
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