The IAF has launched a two-day exercise over its northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Nagaland. They said the exercise is not connected to tensions with China. IAF aircraft participating in the exercise include Su-30MKI multirole combat jets such as these photographed in 2008. (Irkut)
Indian Air Force (IAF) combat jets have been scrambled several times in the last few weeks in the country's northeastern borders in response to growing tensions with China, a defence source confirmed.
Speaking to Janes , the source said that the IAF has been conducting the scrambles based on existing operational readiness platform (ORP) protocols.
Indian media has reported that the IAF's Sukhoi Su-30MKI jets had been scrambled as a response to Chinese unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) moving towards the Indian side of the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC). However, it is unclear if this course was accidental or deliberate.
According to a video released on social media, Indian and Chinese troops had a violent hand-to-hand confrontation on 9 December, near the Holy waterfalls on the Indo-Chinese border. Janes previously reported that the incident occurred in the Yangtse area of the Tawang sector in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh along the LAC.
China has previously claimed parts of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as being part of southern Tibet.
India's Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh confirmed the incident during a 12 December session of the Parliament.
The IAF did not confirm to Janes whether manned aircraft of the People Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) have also been involved in flights near the LAC.
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