Airport
Indian Air Force jets do 5,000 sorties in 72 hours on western front
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Indian Air Force jets do 5,000 sorties in 72 hours on western front
NEW DELHI: After the “surge” in air combat operations on the western front with Pakistan, which saw a staggering 5,000 sorties by fighters alone in just three days last week, the Indian Air Force(IAF) has now switched its forces to the northern borders with China from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh.
No, the worst-case scenario of a two-front war has not suddenly hit India. Instead, the IAF’s entire war machinery has been activated for the ongoing pan-India exercise “GaganShakti” . “It’s the biggest such exercise in terms of scale since Operation Brasstacks in 1986-1987, or Operation Parakram in 2001-2002 when India nearly went to war with Pakistan after the terror attack on Parliament,” said a senior officer.
Despite having just 31 fighter squadrons, when 42 are required to tackle the Pakistan-China threat, the IAF has pulled out all stops to hone its war-fighting skills by testing offensive and defensive capabilities on the two fronts.
As many as 1,150 fighters, aircraft, helicopters and drones as well as hundreds of air defence missile, radar, surveillance and other units have been deployed for the high-voltage exercise, which is taking place with active participation from Army and Navy for integrated land-air-sea combat operations. The IAF has systematically worked towards achieving 83% serviceability (operational availability of the number of aircraft at any given time) for the exercise, in conjunction with defence PSUs like Hindustan Aeronauticsand base repair depots, from the usual 55%-60% in peacetime.
The aim of the exercise is to validate our operational capabilities and concepts in a realistic war-like scenario as well as check our ability to sustain high-tempo operations. It’s not aimed at any country,” said IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa. But the game-plan is quite clear. If the focus in the western theatre was to generate the maximum possible sorties with the same number of fighters to overwhelm the enemy forces, the intent in the eastern one is to operate from dispersed locations to avoid the adversary’s rocket forces while undertaking deep strikes with Sukhoi-30MKI fighters being refueled in mid-air by IL-78 aircraft.
The combat manoeuvres along the northern borders will also see intensive high-altitude operations at advanced landing grounds and helipads, some as high as 20,000 feet, as also inter-valley troop transfers and logistics sustenance by heavy-duty helicopters to make up for the lack of roads.
“Fighters are also practising concentrated weapon releases in realistic attack scenarios all throughout Gagan-Shakti, which includes firing precisionweapons with ‘through window’ capabilities. A simulated battalion-level airborne assault behind enemy lines, which included paradrop of 560 soldiers, combat vehicles and GPS-guided cargo platforms, has also been undertaken with six C-130J Super Hercules and seven AN-32 aircraft launched from multiple airbases,” said another officer.
GaganShakti, in short, reiterates the primacy and flexibility of airpower in modern-day battles.The Sukhoi-30MKIs, which have a combat radius of about 1,500-km without mid-air refueling, for instance, have even got airborne from an eastern coast airbase to strike multiple targets in the western seaboard at distances beyond 2,200 km before landing at a southern base to cover a total distance of around 4,000 km in single non-stop missions.
Courtesy:Times of India
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Airport
Top 10 Largest Airports in the World by Size
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When it comes to the world’s busiest and largest airports, size matters—not just in terms of the area they cover, but also in the volume of passengers they handle and the number of flights they accommodate.
As air travel continues to grow, airports around the globe are expanding and upgrading to meet increasing demand.
Qatar Airways Announces New Flights to Hamburg, resume services to Venice:Click
In 2024, several airports stand out for their impressive size and capacity. This article takes a closer look at these massive aviation hubs, highlighting their key features and what makes them the largest airports in the world today.
Country Airport Area (sq km) Saudi Arabia King Fahd International Airport 776 United States Denver International Airport 135 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur International Airport 100 Turkey Istanbul Airport 76 China Beijing Daxing International Airport 46 Egypt Cairo International Airport 36 Thailand Suvarnabhumi Airport 32 Spain Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport 30 Canada Edmonton International Airport (YEG) 28 Netherlands Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 27 Australia Brisbane International Airport 27 Germany Frankfurt Airport 23 India Rajiv Gandhi International Airport 22
King Fahd International Airport, Saudi Arabia – Spanning a staggering 776 square kilometers, King Fahd International Airport is the largest airport in the world by area. Its vast expanse reflects its crucial role as a major hub in the Middle East.
Denver International Airport, United States – Covering 135 square kilometers, Denver International Airport ranks second in size. Known for its distinctive peaked roof and extensive facilities, it serves as a major gateway in North America.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia – With an area of 100 square kilometers, Kuala Lumpur International Airport is a key international hub in Southeast Asia, offering extensive services and connectivity.
Top 10 Busiest Airports in the World for 2023:Click here
Istanbul Airport, Turkey – Istanbul Airport covers 76 square kilometers. This relatively new airport has quickly become one of the largest and busiest, positioning itself as a central point for travel between Europe and Asia.
Beijing Daxing International Airport, China – Beijing Daxing International Airport, with 46 square kilometers, is one of the newest major airports, featuring an impressive design and extensive facilities to handle growing passenger traffic.
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