India to Deploy Mi 17s, MiG 29s in Tajikistan

New Delhi, July 17 (UNI) In a quiet move, India is working to deploy Mi-17 helicopters and MIG -29 fighters at the Ayni airbase in Tajikistan to get 'strategic reach' in the natural resources-rich Central Asian region before this yearend.

The immediate plan was to deploy Mi-17 helicopters and some Kiran trainer aircraft to train Tajik pilots, confirmed knowledgeable sources in the Defence Ministry here.

This was a prelude to ''a larger strategic imprint'' in the region which energy-starved India looked at as crucial to its growing energy needs, the sources said.

''The eventual aim is to station even MIG 29 fighters at the base'', they added.

It will be India's first real military outpost in a foreign land.

With the passage of time, this post would be developed into a full-fledged airbase giving India the strength to ''rapidly insert its forces'' to nearby areas in case its interests were threatened there.

The Defence Ministry has sought approval of a Rs 100 crore plan by the Cabinet Committee on Security to commence renovation and upgradation at the Ayni airbase in this regard, the sources confirmed.

Indian help was already at work at the Tajik airbase. Indian Army engineers had already re-laid the runway, constructed three aircraft hangars and provided a new Air Traffic Control tower at the base, about 15 km from the Tajik capital of Dushanbe.

The ongoing project was being done under a 3-way agreement among India, Russia and Tajikistan.

India wants its military presence in the area ''to keep tabs on its energy interests in Central Asia and any anti-India activity in Afghanistan and Pakistan'', the sources observed.

UNI