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India Moves Jets, Copters to China-Facing Forward Bases

sanman

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It looks like a major fight may be brewing between 2 of Asia's giants - the Elephant and the Dragon:


India Moves Jets, Copters to China-Facing Forward Bases


NEW DELHI: India has moved its fighter jets to forward airbases facing China, even as additional warships have now been deployed in the extended Bay of Bengal region, in a clear signal to Beijing that New Delhi is prepared for escalation in the ongoing troop confrontation on the unresolved border.

The fresh build-up includes the new Apache attack helicopters, which are “tank killers” with their Hellfire air-to-ground missiles and rockets, and Chinook heavy-lift choppers, capable of transporting howitzers and troops to forward high-altitude areas, being deployed in Ladakh.

“China has crossed our red-lines by brutally killing 20 of our soldiers in a premeditated attack (in Galwan Valley of eastern Ladakh on June 15). We are fully prepared for any spiraling of the escalation matrix. All necessary steps have been taken,” said a top military officer.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which is clearly in no mood for disengagement, also continues to build-up its forces all along the 3,488-km long LAC. This is especially true at the ongoing troop confrontation sites in Galwan Valley region, Pangong Tso (Tso means lake), and Gogra-Hot Springs area as well other areas like Depsang and Chushul in eastern Ladakh.

PLA troops, for instance, have built dozens of new fortifications from “Finger-4 to 8”(mountainous spurs separated by a distance of 8-km) on the north bank of Pangong Tso. Since early-May, they have been blocking all Indian patrols going west to east in the area, as was earlier reported by TOI.

Similar is the situation in Galwan and Hot Springs areas, with China also augmenting the number of its J-11 and J-8 fighters as well as long-range bombers at its Hotan and Kashgar airbases in Tibet, said sources.
India, on its part, has inducted frontline Sukhoi-30MKI, MiG-29 and Jaguar fighters into forward airbases, with IAF chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria quietly visiting Leh and Srinagar on Wednesday and Thursday to review the operational preparedness in the region.

IAF has fully activated all its airbases facing the northern borders with China, ranging from Leh, Srinagar, Awantipur and Bareilly to Tezpur, Chabua and Hasimara in the north-east, to further strengthen its military posture.

Though China can deploy over 20 fighter squadrons from its eight main airbases in Tibet and other airfields to their north during a conflict, it suffers from a terrain constraint because the weapon and fuel-carrying capacity of its jets is limited due to the high-altitude and rarefied air in the region.

While Indian fighters are undertaking stepped-up `combat air patrols’ due to the “heightened state of alert” in the region, C-17 Globemaster-III, C-130J `Super Hercules’ and AN-32 transport aircraft have formed “an air bridge” from Chandigarh to Ladakh to transport soldiers and weapon systems to forward areas in regular sorties.

In a decisive shift from its earlier policy, India is now determined to impose costs on China for its salami-slicing or cartographic aggression tactics to grab territory, as was first reported by TOI.
 
There's quite a flood of information being published on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/opsec_025/status/1273968457672003586

Update: 3 #IAF's Boeing C-17 Globemaster III spotted at Leh, Airbase, #Ladakh, IOJK. The data show that India continue sending more troops and other war support units.

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Border Simmers, India’s New Apaches Appear In Ladakh


The Indian Air Force’s new Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters broke cover in Leh today in what is their first deployment to the very high altitudes of Ladakh in an operational atmosphere. The Leh air base where the Apaches were spotted operating from today, is at an elevation of over 10,600 feet above mean sea level.

The appearance of the Apaches in Ladakh is immediately significant, coming as it does at a time when an extended military standoff at the disputed border in Ladakh between India and China led to a brutal clash of troops on the night of June 15, resulting the deaths of 20 Indian Army personnel and an unspecified number of Chinese personnel. The fatalities were the first between both countries in nearly half a century of a border peace that has never escalated beyond the occasional brawl.

In this backdrop, the appearance of the IAF Apaches in Ladakh carried clear meaning, and is likely to have been planned specifically as a message to the Chinese government. The helicopters were seen operating openly amidst routine air activity in the area, which included the IAF’s upgraded MiG-29s and Su-30 MKI fighters, both of which have had a fair bit of Ladakh time now.

Aviation journalist Angad Singh says, “Along with the MiG-29UPGs, sends a strong message to the Chinese that our premier aircraft will be operating from close ranges with short reaction times. The Apache itself going there is a good sign — shows confidence in the system and the crews relatively soon after induction. Leh and the high-altitude theatre in general is the most demanding IAF mission.

Military helicopter pilot veteran Commander K.P. Sanjeev Kumar says, “IAF’s AH-64E Apache Indian making an appearance in Ladakh sector is a welcome sign. The ‘hot & high’ situation that obtains in the sector today provides ideal baptism for the Gladiators and a reality check for the machine in Indian conditions. Mi-35s they replaced had to sit out during Kargil War. The avionics update, envelope expansion & night upgrade came too late. Today, as India faces a different challenge, indigenous LCH optimised for that very theatre awaits orders. We must learn from history. Shorten the time lag between operational requirements and fielding of capabilities. The enemy won’t wait. Capabilities and numbers both are important. But most important is the political will to use these assets. I hope we don’t dither if push comes to shove.”

Leh, situated in an arena like bowl of mountains, is situated about 80 km southwest of the India-China troop standoff points in the Galwan Valley and Hot Springs area, and about 110 km west from the north banks of the Pangong Lake, where Indian and Chinese troops stand less than 500 meters apart in some places.

The Apaches being deployed in Ladakh is is even less surprising, given specific mobilisations by the Chinese in the past four weeks. In the last two days, satellite imagery analysts have spotted in clear view Chinese armour mobilisations in the Hot Springs area and the emergence of a series of pillboxes along the Finger 4 ridgeline in the Pangong sector.

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Chinese armour near India’s Gogra Post in Hot Springs / COURTESY DETRESFA

The Apaches, part of the Gladiators squadron based in Pathankot, about 270 km south-west of Leh. The helicopters are less than a year old in Indian service, with deliveries of 22 starting in July last year and squadron being formally inaugurated in September. The Indian Apaches, half of them Longbow versions, come armed with AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles, 2.75″ rockets and and a 30mm chain gun.

New-Picture-3.jpg


While the IAF has received all 22 Apaches on order, the Indian Army signed up for 6 AH-64Es in February this year. The IAF’s 22 are to operate both at Pathankot near the Pakistan border as well as Jorhat near the China border in India’s north east. While the Gladiators squadron Apaches have been on combat patrol flights near the international border in Punjab over the last few months, today’s images from Leh are their first known operational deployment in Ladakh.

The other new American rotorcraft in IAF service, the CH-47F Chinooks have been to Leh before — and are back during the current tensions. Satellite imagery intelligence analyst DetResFa tweeted this image of a Chinook at Leh last month:

EZ9qgxyUMAI6U_l.jpg


Meanwhile, reports emerged yesterday that border tensions would be speeding up Indian contracts for 12 more Su-30 MKI and 21 MiG-29 jets from Russia. It is unclear how soon contract could be signed though.
 
 
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They (mostly China) picked a hell of a time to start even a minor war. With the pandemic doing a jump-start with infections, seems like this whole scenario is going to hurt both of their economies.
 
Time for the US to send India more military goodies.
 
Indians are cool. Chinese though will try to squeeze everything they can out of you. Lucky thing for India they have Tibet in between.
 
Indians are cool. Chinese though will try to squeeze everything they can out of you. Lucky thing for India they have Tibet in between.

That doesn't mean much, since China seems to think it owns Tibet.
 
That doesn't mean much, since China seems to think it owns Tibet.

China thinks they own all kinds of things they don't. Like Taiwan a free country off their coast who don't care much for the mainland Chinese dictatorship I'm told. But then who does?
 
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