Air-chief inaugurates SWAC commanders' meet at Gandhinagar

Gandhinagar, Jan 28 (UNI) Against the backdrop of rising terror attacks in the country in the past couple of years, chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi today inaugurated the annual Commanders' Conference of the all Air Force Units under South Western Air Command (SWAC) at Gandhinagar.

The conference will go on till tomorrow and is being attended by all Commanders of the air force units within the geographical limits of HQ SWAC in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Air Marshal PK Mehra, AOC-in-C, SWAC received ACM Tyagi at the venue.

Speaking to mediapersons, the Air Chief said that from the traditional hitherto role of protection of airspace and land boundaries, the role of the Air Force was constantly evolving. Even as the 'area of interest' increased, the IAF undertook joint operations with the Air Forces of Jakarta, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Maldives.

''The IAF should be able to reach the 'areas of interest' and the new 'strategic boundaries', not just for fighting, but for playing a suitable role there. In order to achieve this objective, all IAF aircraft should be capable of mid-air refuelling. Therefore, the need for more tankers for aerial refuelling is being considered favourably by the Government,'' he observed.

''The selection, training and retention of human resources to operate the hardware and equipment for the newer methods under the changed dimensions is a challenge and towards this, the human resource development is an important process in the transformation going on in the IAF,'' he noted.

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