IAF can deliver desired punch in short time: Air Chief Marshal

New Delhi: India should comprehend the situation along its unsettled western and northern borders as a 'two-front' contingency and prepare for it accordingly, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said on Sunday, referring to the possible challenge from a collusive military threat from China and Pakistan.

In an exclusive interview to PTI, the Chief of Air Staff said India could be attacked on all fronts, starting from military standoffs to information manipulation and blackouts in the future and its security doctrines and capabilities will have to cater to such possibilities.

To a specific question on whether Russian aggression against Ukraine could encourage China to take more aggressive posturing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), he said the effect of global events and geopolitical developments on India's engagement with Beijing are being assessed continually across wide-ranging domains "at all levels". "As a nation, we need to identify our immediate and future threats accurately so that necessary capability responses can be developed to counter them," he said.

Asked about China's rapid deployment of its air assets along the LAC in eastern Ladakh amid the lingering border standoff, he said the "IAF can deliver the desired punch when required within a very short time-frame." Listing the rapid geopolitical upheavals, the Chief of Air Staff noted that any future conflict will require the integration of all elements of the national security apparatus to make it an "All-of-Nation-Approach".

"We have certain challenges on our western and northern borders, primarily due to unsettled borders. It would be prudent for us to comprehend our situation as a 'two-front' contingency' and prepare for it accordingly," he opined.

The chief of Air Staff said that India's military operational plans, capability enhancement and training should always cater for a wide spectrum of threats emanating from either or both fronts. Several top military officials including India's first Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and former Army Chief Gen MM Naravane had flagged concerns about the possibility of a coordinated threat along the northern and western fronts. But it is for the first time that a serving chief has called for a detailed plan to deal with such a threat.

"We are also cognisant of the need to be prepared for an event-based short-duration operation which necessitates quick planning, rapid deployment of assets and swift action," he said.