The Hindu : National : MARS extends global reach of Indian Air Force

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Sunday, Sep 26, 2004

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MARS extends global reach of Indian Air Force

MIDAIR ACTION: Two Indian Air Force Sukhoi fighters being refuelled by an IL-78 at a height of 17,000 feet during an exercise in Agra on Friday. Two Mirage aircraft (bottom) and a Jaguar (right top) are seen escorting them. — AP

AGRA, SEPT. 25. Defying logistic barriers, the Indian Air Force has made operational in record time its just-acquired force multipliers, the IL-78 mid-air refuellers, making India the only power in Asia after China to deploy such a capability.

More than a year after the induction of the Ilyushin-78 refuellers, which effectively eliminated the need for fighter aircraft to touch down for refuelling, the Mid Air Refuelling Squadron (MARS) claims to have come of age attaining technical proficiency to give inter-continental strike range for IAF's frontline fighters such as Mirage-2000 and Sukhoi-30s.

India has already acquired four of these refuellers from Uzbekistan and two more are expected next month, but Group Captain Shouvik Roy said the squadron was fully operational.

With more than 2,300 hours of flying experience and 48,000 engagements so far, senior officials of the elite Squadron-78, nicknamed ``battle-cry,'' said it has sorted out some initial technical glitches and can now match any force in the world, a claim recently acknowledged by the U.S. The giant refuellers, equipped with Russian, French and Israeli avionics and other systems, were acquired more than a year ago, making the Indian Air Force only the sixth air force in the world to have such capability.

`Tactical flexibility'

The fuel carriers, an upgraded version of the IL-76, have provided ``tactical flexibility'' by extending the flying range of fighter aircraft and catapulted the force into the global scene as it can now undertake deployment in any part of the world, officials told a visiting media team at the Air Force base here, the first such interaction after the squadron was formed more than a year ago.

Riding on the crest of its recent performance during exercise Cooperative Cope Thunder in Alaska, where the underdogs gave the top guns a run for their money, Group Capt. Roy said ``the IAF has never performed such a role before'' and said the squadron can give the force air superiority in the region and on an international level.

``The mid-air refuelling squadron gives the existing capability a tactical flexibility and enhances capacity because there is optimum utilisation of resources,'' Group Capt. Roy, who is also the Commanding Officer of the station, said after a special mid-air refuelling demonstration here on Friday.

The IL-78s, which refuel at the rate of 500-600 litres a minute, can carry up to 118 tonnes of fuel, and can simultaneously quench the thirst of three air-borne fighter aircraft, thus eliminating the need to touch down for refuelling and allowing the fighters to carry more pay load and penetrate deep into the enemy territories.

Probe system

Using the probe and drogue system, wherein a 75-metre long hose reels out of the giant Il-78 fuel carrier to connect with a fighter aircraft mid-air to transfer fuel with utmost precision and synchronisation, the newly-acquired asset has revolutionised the force. ``Now we can go deep into the enemy areas during forward missions as the fighters, accompanied by IL-78s, can penetrate up to 7,000 km,'' sources said.

The IAF is also planning to get the Navy on board as the light fighter aircraft Sea Harriers were compatible for mid-air refuelling. ``We would be interacting with them soon. We are working in stages to move forward,'' Group Capt. Roy said.

The squadron, with a strength of 4 IL-78s and 16 crew members, is also expecting a technical upgradation of the fleet in the backdrop of India signing a deal with Israel for the purchase of AWACS.

The Air Defence and Strike Refuelling Aircraft (ASTRA) has already performed at international levels during the exercise at Alaska and recently in South Africa as part of Exercise Golden Eagle at Hoed Spirit, in which two flight refueller aircraft participated.

PTI

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