Chennai, Nov 13: In a bid to prevent stealing of information and physical damage to equipment, systems are being upgraded and modern gadgets placed in many Indian Air
Force installations, a senior Indian Air Force official said
here today.
Even though, India is way ahead of Pakistan in air combat and arsenal, the IAF needed further upgradation of equipment and training standards, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, G S Chaudhury told reporters after inspecting a guard of honour at the IAF base at Tambaram.
India possessed more potent weapons, a larger number of people, pilots and technicians trained in handling and maintaining sophisticated aircraft including advanced jet
trainers, compared to Pakistan, he said.
"Pakistan is trying to destabilise India through indirect methods and the Kargil war itself was a clandestine operation. Since 1971, Pakistan had not waged a war with India in the skies, knowing well the strength of the Indian Air Force", Chaudhary said.
To a query on ageing fleet and the problem of training pilots with those machines, he said though bunter aircraft were not in vogue now, the MiG-21s are doing the training job.
Once a pilot managed to control them, he could fly any aircraft, he added.
He said the earthquake that had struck Pakistan in October last year had done great damage to the country's economy and the acquisition of modern fighter aircrafts (f-16)
from the us had been put off for the time being.
Bureau Report
