(rpt, adding dropped words in para eight)

New Delhi, Feb 4 (UNI) Asserting that the Aerospace Command would soon be set up, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi today said this would not be against the country's policy of non-militarisation of space.

''The IAF is a part of the country and does not have separate views on policy... we are also against the militarisation of space,'' he said in response to a question whether the government had turned down the demand for a Aerospace Command in response to its policy that space should not be used for military purposes.

Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of the International Conference on 'Aerospace Power in Tomorrow's World,'organised by the IAF as part of its Platinum Jubilee celebrations, he said the shape, size and other contours of this command were to be decided but it would be a tri-service command.

Noting that his force used space for various purposes, including communications, ACM Tyagi -- who was flanked by his designated successor Air Marshal F H Major -- said that conferences such as this would allow the IAF to interact with other leading forces of the world in deliberating on the best ways of exploiting space for national and strategic interests.

Air Marshal Major -- in his first media interaction after he was designated the new IAF chief -- said creation of this command would also be one of his priorities, but declined to answer whether he believed this would be set up in his tenure.

To a question on the Chinese anti-satellite test last month, in which it reportedly used a medium-range ballistic missile to launch an unknown payload that slammed into the Feng Yun (FY-1C) polar-orbit weather satellite approximately 865 km above the earth, ACM Tyagi said this required further examination before they began to consider it a threat.

''We have to see whether this was a test or they have managed to devise such a system successfully,'' he said.

On a question whether he was worried about the the threats to airfields and vital IAF infrastructure, in view of the updated information available on Google Earth, could be used by 'jihadi' elements to target these vital assets, ACM Tyagi said the force had measures to deal with the situation.

''We know the information availble on Google Earth and other means also, but we are not overly concerned... we have requisite defence mechanisms in place to deal with any threats,'' he said.

The Air Chief also shrugged off questions about the background of his designated successor -- the first helicopter pilot who has risen to command the force.

''He is the best man for the job,'' he asserted.

UNI