The war games for rapid force deployment would be carried out using the Mi-17V5 helicopters and the C-130J Super Hercules Special Operations aircraft (left), which can take off from and land on very small runways

IAF will carry out war games for rapid deployment of troops along China border. The drill may prove useful in event of a sudden invasion by enemy troops. This will help prevent Doklam-like crisis

The war games for rapid force deployment would be carried out using the Mi-17V5 helicopters and the C-130J Super Hercules Special Operations aircraft (left), which can take off from and land on very small runways.

At a time when India is preparing itself for more Doklam-like crisis in the future, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will carry out war games for rapid deployment of troops from one valley to the other in the high mountainous regions along the border with China.

The drill for the rapid transfer of troops from one valley to another to prevent a sudden invasion by the enemy troops along the borders or to meet the need for sending immediate reinforcements is likely to be carried out in the high mountain locations of Dharasu and Pithorgarh in Uttarakhand, government sources told Mail Today.

The Air Force would be conducting these operations during the forthcoming pan-India war game Exercise Gaganshakti, to be held from April 8, where the Air Force would be mobilising almost its entire fleet of combat and transport aircraft along with the helicopters and all the ground-based assets, they said.

The war games for rapid force deployment would be carried out using the Mi-17V5 helicopters and the C-130J Super Hercules Special Operations aircraft which can take off and land from very small runways, the sources said.

In Doklam, after India raised objections over the construction of road from Doklam to the Jhampheri ridge in Bhutan citing security reasons, the Chinese activated their troops all along the Line of Actual Control after which India had to deploy more troops in the Ladakh region to prevent any misadventure by the adversary.

In the recent times, the Chinese have also activated their troops in the border shared by it in Uttarakhand as there have been many instances of transgressions and air space violation by their choppers.

Sources said the drills would help the forces to be better prepared for tackling similar situations in the future. During the drills, the Air Force would also be carrying out drills to land and take off its fighter planes such as the Su-30MKI and the rest of the fleet from the new Advanced Landing Grounds prepared by the force in Arunachal Pradesh and other areas in the northeastern states.

The mega exercise, which is expected to continue for more than a week, will see the use of the Air Force Special Forces Garuds to carry out sabotage operations beyond the enemy lines and also in tasks to protect its own bases, the sources said.

In a major boost to Make in India in defence sector, the Air Force is also planning to deploy the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas , which has been inducted into the 45 Squadron of the IAF in the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) configuration and are being readied for carrying out operational roles in the near future.

The LCA project approved in 1983 has been marred by delays due to the sanction regime of the United States in the late 1990s and early 2000s and delays on part of laboratories of the DRDO.

During the exercise, the IAF will operate its latest acquisitions in a networkcentric environment, achieving very high levels of synergy with the Army and the Navy, sources in the Air Force said.

The exercise will be based on a scenario that included rapid deployment across the country at all operational Air Force bases.