Jodhpur: Amid the threat of China getting aggressive on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the coming months, IAF Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said ‘India too can be aggressive if China tries to get aggressive’, on Saturday.
Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria exuded pride and confidence over the new Rafale jets and said that the Chinese aggression along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) will be dealt with a befitting reply by India if provoked.
On being asked in a press conference, if the training or exercises are also being done at the Eastern border as the current exercise ‘Desert Knight-21′ is being done at the Western border, Bhadauria said, “The bilateral exercises are not part of exercises against any country. It is to develop capability and improve bilateral ties. If it is not being seen that does not mean it is not happening. Several trainings are also being done there.”
The IAF Chief said that eight Rafale fighter jets have arrived in India and three will come by the end of the month.
“Enough training of pilots are being done. By next year, the induction of the jets will conclude,” he added.
Responding to a question on the capabilities’ enhancement of the IAF, Bhadauria said, “We have started the fifth-generation fighter aircraft programme with DRDO under AMCA aircraft project. We would like to add sixth-generation capabilities in that but we would like to first focus on the fifth-generation fighter aircraft.”
“The Indian Air Force is ready to undertake any challenge from Leh to Kanyakumari. The Rafale fleet is ready to undertake any operation,” IAF Squadron Leader Sarthak Kumar, who is also a Rafale fighter jet pilot, said.
India and France are currently conducting a joint exercise – Desert Knight 2021 – in Jodhpur from January 20-24.
The significance of this exercise is that the Rafale fighter jets that have been inducted recently in our Air Force have trained with the Indian Sukhoi-30s and Mirage fighter planes. We have shown how quickly we have adapted to the Rafale fighters. We have shown the French the capability of our pilots that they any quickly operationalise in any fighter at a very fast pace,” Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat said on Thursday.