IAF secures city sky for Games-September 29, 2010

| Wednesday, September 29, 2010 |

IAF secures city sky for Games

September 29, 2010 6:02:13 AM

Pioneer News Service | New Delhi

In an effort to provide foolproof security cover to the Commonwealth Games, the IAF has operationalised a massive air defence cover in conjunction with the Delhi police. The cover includes air patrolling by armed helicopters, round the clock radar coverage, frontline SU-30 fighter jets kept on standby to neutralise any ‘hostile’ aircraft and all the stadia covered by surface to air missile network.

Giving details of the air defence cover, sources said on Tuesday the defence umbrella over a 60-km air radius known as ‘hot zone’ was put in place after taking a holistic view of all kinds of possible threats. They included hijacking of an aircraft, a hostile low-speed or high-speed aircraft, para-glider, balloons, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), micro-light planes and conventional and sub-conventional threats besides nuclear, biological and chemical(NBC) warfare.

Incidentally, the IAF will observe the Air Force Day as scheduled on October 8 at the Hindon air base near Ghaziabad with a fly past, officials said adding it will ensure operational readiness for any eventuality.

Moreover, air space over Delhi would be closed for any unscheduled flight during the opening and closing ceremonies, they said adding no unscheduled flight would be allowed at least 300 km from the national Capital air space. The drill would be in place till the Commonwealth Games end, they said.

Officials said the IAF will take care of the conventional threats like a hostile high-speed aircraft trying to violate the airspace over Delhi. The SU-30s and MIG-21s are already in the operational readiness platform mode at various air stations around the national Capital in north India. Operational readiness means that the SU-30 will be airborne within a few minutes after getting information about a hostile aircraft, they said.

As regards the sub-conventional threats like a glider taking off from a high-rise building or a ground in the populated areas of Delhi and neighbourhood, the Delhi Police was trained by the IAF to spot them with naked eye and inform the nearest mobile observation post of the IAF for further action.

Elaborating upon this drill, sources said select Delhi Police personnel were trained to visualise, identify and report a suspicious aircraft and the snipers of the National Security Guards (NSG) and the Delhi Police will then neutralise the aircraft.

Explaining the role of the mobile observations posts, they said several such posts were now operational all over the Capital. These posts by trained IAF men see an aircraft with naked eye or hear its approach with specialised equipment and then transmit the report to the operations room through encryption machines.

Sources said the air defence cover was fully integrated with the Delhi Police communication network and IAF air defence set up for better co-ordination. It ensured transmission of real time inputs to communication hub jointly manned by the IAF and the Delhi Police. Moreover, a group of highly-trained IAF commandos known as Garuds was deployed for any contingency, they said.

On the issue of providing security to all the venues hosting various sporting events, they said surface to air missiles like Pichora were deployed besides air defence guns and medium machine guns of the Army.

Armed helicopters had commenced air patrolling and the sorties would be intensified during the 13-day Games starting October 3, sources said adding two IAF UAVs would hover more than 6,000 feet about the ground during the opening and closing ceremony to detect and provide information about any suspicious air movement.