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Guwahati/Pasighat, Aug. 18: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will land its fighter plane, Sukhoi-30, for the first time in Arunachal Pradesh, at Pasighat bordering China, tomorrow.
The state has 1680km of international border, of which 1080km is with China.
Air force officials told The Telegraph today that a Sukhoi-30, which can carry bombs, missiles and guns, will land at the advance landing ground at Pasighat that remained unused since the Sino-Indian war of 1962.
Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, who flew on board a Sukhoi-30 to the IAF's Halwara base in Punjab in May, will attend tomorrow's function to inaugurate the advance landing ground. Rijiju hails from Arunachal Pradesh.
"This is not just a symbolic landing of a fighter jet in the frontier state but is part of the IAF's preparedness in the eastern sector. Fighter jets are there in northern sector in Leh (J&K) and the landing of a Sukhoi-30 in Arunachal Pradesh is definitely a boost in our eastern sector," an official said. The runway is longer than the one at Mohanbari civil airport in Dibrugarh and can take in most kind of aircraft. Sources said Mohonto Panging, a retired air force group captain, who was denied a visa by China a few years ago, has also been invited to the function.
Panging is the first pilot of Sukhoi-30 from Arunachal Pradesh. The IAF bases at Tezpur (Sonitpur district) and Chabua (Dibrugarh district) in neighbouring Assam have Sukhoi-30 aircraft at present.
Panging has been filled with nostalgia for the past couple of days as the Sukhois zipped across the sky over his hometown, Pasighat. "I feel nostalgic and proud," Panging told The Telegraph .
He has a good reason, having belonged to the "original lot" of Sukhoi pilots. "I, too, had gone to Russia to bring the first 12 Sukhois to India in 1997 and tomorrow one of those will land at my doorstep," he said. He had trained in Moscow to fly the Sukhoi. "As far as I know, there have been only three fighter pilots from Arunachal Pradesh and all are now retired," he said.
Besides the Sukhoi, Panging has flown the MiG 29, Hunter, Jaguar and the Sea Harrier during his time in the IAF, clocking 2,000 flying hours in Sukhois and overall 3,500 flying hours.
Panging said over the past couple of days the Sukhois were "overshooting" as a practice for tomorrow's landing.
"During an overshoot, the planes come close to touch down but then fly away," he explained. He said the opening of the advance landing ground would bring in a lot of benefits for Arunachal Pradesh, and more particularly to Pasighat.
"It will be a proud moment for not only me but all of Arunachal," he said. "Be it tourism or industrial development, all will benefit," he said. He himself has started a mechanised textile unit in Pasighat, which he said is the first of its kind in the state.
Sukhoi-30 is a twin-engine, two-seater super manoeuvrable fighter aircraft that has been developed by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It has been built for the IAF under the licence of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. It is a fighter plane for all weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions.
The Su-30MKI has a range of 3,000km with in-flight refuelling (IFR) probe that retracts beside the cockpit during normal operation. The air refuelling system increases the flight duration up to 10 hours. It can refuel mid-air too.
The upgraded ALG at Tuting was inaugurated in October in 2015 and those in Mechuka, Ziro, Along and Wallong were inaugurated in March and May this year.
"The reopening of the ALGs will definitely benefit the civilians in Arunachal Pradesh as many places remain cut off during the monsoon. The AN-32 and helicopters are often used to rescue marooned people and supply essentials during disasters," said the IAF official.
Pasighat is a small cantonment and administrative town in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. It is connected with Guwahati, Lakhimpur in Assam and the Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar by road.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160819/jsp/northeast/story_103219.jsp#.V7aFqDNw2AR
The state has 1680km of international border, of which 1080km is with China.
Air force officials told The Telegraph today that a Sukhoi-30, which can carry bombs, missiles and guns, will land at the advance landing ground at Pasighat that remained unused since the Sino-Indian war of 1962.
Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, who flew on board a Sukhoi-30 to the IAF's Halwara base in Punjab in May, will attend tomorrow's function to inaugurate the advance landing ground. Rijiju hails from Arunachal Pradesh.
"This is not just a symbolic landing of a fighter jet in the frontier state but is part of the IAF's preparedness in the eastern sector. Fighter jets are there in northern sector in Leh (J&K) and the landing of a Sukhoi-30 in Arunachal Pradesh is definitely a boost in our eastern sector," an official said. The runway is longer than the one at Mohanbari civil airport in Dibrugarh and can take in most kind of aircraft. Sources said Mohonto Panging, a retired air force group captain, who was denied a visa by China a few years ago, has also been invited to the function.
Panging is the first pilot of Sukhoi-30 from Arunachal Pradesh. The IAF bases at Tezpur (Sonitpur district) and Chabua (Dibrugarh district) in neighbouring Assam have Sukhoi-30 aircraft at present.
Panging has been filled with nostalgia for the past couple of days as the Sukhois zipped across the sky over his hometown, Pasighat. "I feel nostalgic and proud," Panging told The Telegraph .
He has a good reason, having belonged to the "original lot" of Sukhoi pilots. "I, too, had gone to Russia to bring the first 12 Sukhois to India in 1997 and tomorrow one of those will land at my doorstep," he said. He had trained in Moscow to fly the Sukhoi. "As far as I know, there have been only three fighter pilots from Arunachal Pradesh and all are now retired," he said.
Besides the Sukhoi, Panging has flown the MiG 29, Hunter, Jaguar and the Sea Harrier during his time in the IAF, clocking 2,000 flying hours in Sukhois and overall 3,500 flying hours.
Panging said over the past couple of days the Sukhois were "overshooting" as a practice for tomorrow's landing.
"During an overshoot, the planes come close to touch down but then fly away," he explained. He said the opening of the advance landing ground would bring in a lot of benefits for Arunachal Pradesh, and more particularly to Pasighat.
"It will be a proud moment for not only me but all of Arunachal," he said. "Be it tourism or industrial development, all will benefit," he said. He himself has started a mechanised textile unit in Pasighat, which he said is the first of its kind in the state.
Sukhoi-30 is a twin-engine, two-seater super manoeuvrable fighter aircraft that has been developed by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It has been built for the IAF under the licence of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. It is a fighter plane for all weather, air-to-air and air-to-surface deep interdiction missions.
The Su-30MKI has a range of 3,000km with in-flight refuelling (IFR) probe that retracts beside the cockpit during normal operation. The air refuelling system increases the flight duration up to 10 hours. It can refuel mid-air too.
The upgraded ALG at Tuting was inaugurated in October in 2015 and those in Mechuka, Ziro, Along and Wallong were inaugurated in March and May this year.
"The reopening of the ALGs will definitely benefit the civilians in Arunachal Pradesh as many places remain cut off during the monsoon. The AN-32 and helicopters are often used to rescue marooned people and supply essentials during disasters," said the IAF official.
Pasighat is a small cantonment and administrative town in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. It is connected with Guwahati, Lakhimpur in Assam and the Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanagar by road.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160819/jsp/northeast/story_103219.jsp#.V7aFqDNw2AR
