Frontier India Current Affairs

Written on May 31, 2008 – 1:36 pm | by FICA |

The increasing awareness of threats from China has led the Indian Air Force (IAF) to make the Daulat Beg Oldi airbase operational. The air base was set up in 1962 during the Indo-China war and closed in 1965.The old air base is situated in mountainous Northern Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir that was closed 43 years ago. Today an AN-32 transport aircraft carrying Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (Western Air Command) Air Marshal P K Barbora landed at the Dawaltbaigh Oldi air strip around 0850 hours after flying from Chandigarh.

Barbora had last week said that the operationalisation of the base will demonstrate to the world that India is capable of manning airfield at such a high altitude. He had said a month back that airbase besides facilitating Indian troops in the region will send an apt message across.

Air Marshal, P K Barbora is considered as being a highly decorated officer, a qualified Flying Instructor and a Fighter combat leader with a flying experience of over 3,500 hours on fighter class of aircraft.

The air base overlooking the strategic Karakoram pass is just 8 km south of the Chinese border. The air base at Daulat Beg Oldi at an altitude of about 5,600 metres facing Chip Chap area in disputed Aksai Chin area presently with China. It is also close to illegal Karakoram Highway built for connecting China and Pakistan. IAF plans to carry out regular AN-32 transport aircraft flights from here in future.

In the book “My Years with the IAF”, By Air Chief Marshal PC Lal quotes “On 20 October 1962, Sqn Ldr Chandan Singh’s An-12, on a flight from Chandigarh to Daulat Beg Oldi region came back hit by LMG (Light Machine Gun) fire by the Chinese. The undeclared war had begun.”

Besides, IAF’s MI-17, MI-26 helicopters, Chetak and Druv helicopters can land at the helipad to ferry much-needed supplies to troops deployed in the region.