:: Opinion

Let Air Force gun for Naxals, quickly

Anil Bhat

Oct.14 : A major issue that has emerged during the period of celebrations of the 77th anniversary of the Indian Air Force (IAF), beginning with the first interaction which the newly appointed Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik had with the media, is that of protection of air crew and aircraft against Naxalites targeting them from the ground.

With aid to civil power being a major role of the Indian Air Force during peace time, its fixed wing transport aircraft helicopters invariably remain at the forefront of tasks like flood and disaster relief, casualty evacuation, aerial survey, transporting Army, police or paramilitary military personnel, their senior officers and political leaders and officials for elections. Some of these tasks can be quite prolonged, involving flying many sorties stretching over at least a few weeks.

It was while undertaking the unenviable task of supporting the electoral process supervised by the Election Commission this year, for which two IL-76, four AN-32 transport aircraft, 25 medium-lift helicopters and four Chetak helicopters of the IAF were pressed into service, that some of them were fired at by Naxalites.

Helicopters drawn from 13 different IAF air bases across the country were provided to 14 states — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Orissa, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

While flying over most areas for poll-related duties may seem routine, sorties over Naxal-affected regions for some pilots proved to be no less daunting than being in the battle zone. For Squadron Leader R. Dhobhal and Flying Officer K. Prakash, flying a Mi-17 helicopter on election duty, it was a close shave when Naxals opened fire at them.

The incident occurred on April 16, at Binagonda in Gadchiroli district, Maharashtra, bordering Chhattisgarh. Tasked with airlifting a polling party of five members and electronic voting machines (EVMs), the Mi-17 crew was airborne from nearby Aheri to pick up the election officials from Binagonda and drop them at Laheri, a mere five minutes flying time. "The additional superintendent of police, Laheri, Mr Jayakumar, and I were overseeing the loading of the men and EVMs when I heard the burst of fire through the din of the rotating rotors," said Squadron Leader Dhobhal, captain of the flight. and a veteran of two UN missions where he had honed his skills in dealing with such scenarios. "Getting away quickly for the safety of the crew, passengers and the aircraft was all that was on my mind. In less than 15 seconds we were clear of the helipad," he added.

A closer inspection on landing revealed a hole made by a 7.62 mm calibre bullet in the tail boom of the helicopter. The aircraft was repaired and safely ferried back to Nagpur. No major damage was done owing to the quick response of the vigilant crew, averting what could have resulted in a major mishap. It may be recalled that on November 14, 2008, the IAF lost an air crew member when Maoist rebels fired at their Mi-8 helicopter during a similar poll-related flying task at Pedia, in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.

By the end of the last phase of elections on May 13, the IAF had altogether flown a total of 930 sorties over 780 hours for tasks that included airlifting 6,792 passengers, 137 tons of election material and 436 EVMs. In an unprecedented airlift effort undertaken by the IAF’s transport fleet, two IL-76 and four AN-32 airlifted 3,234 central paramilitary forces alone from Imphal to Kalaikunda in three days, from April 26-28.

As in the past, and this time all the more so, the significant role of IAF helicopter pilots came in for some high praise and their contribution was acknowledged from various quarters, including those from the ministries of defence and home as well as the state governments. Mr N. Gopalaswami, former Chief Election Commissioner, just before his retirement on April 20, also appreciated the important contribution of the IAF in the conduct of the 2009 elections.

So far the IAF has been operating strictly on passive defensive measures only. These include using lightly armoured helicopters like MI-8s on relatively "safe" routes and timings. This needs very reliable real-time intelligence, which has been in short supply considering the rate of attrition of police and paramilitary personnel in anti-Naxal operations.

The need of the hour is to provide all aircraft operating in Naxal-threatened areas the means to protect their crew and craft. While the IAF has so far been fortunate not to lose any men or aircraft with the desperately offensive mood the Naxals are in now, and their lethal arsenal of sophisticated weapons, including mortars, the government may be well advised to consider even limited use of the IAF’s small arms to neutralise confirmed Naxal concentrations and camps or structures.

But the government’s policy on vital aspect of the protection of air crew and aircraft when they are fired at by "misguided elements" of our own country still hangs fire, pun intended. Defence minister A.K. Antony said last week the government would grant the Indian Air Force permission to fire back at Naxalites in self-defence once detailed procedures for the same are put in place.

In the interest of the protection of the IAF’s assets and effective deterrent against Naxal insurgents-turned-terrorists, a decision should be made earliest.

Anil Bhat, a retired Army officer, is a defence and security analyst based in New Delhi