IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari on Saturday announced that the government has approved the creation of a weapon system branch for IAF officers. "Creation of infrastructure is in progress," he said. He also announced the creation of a new weapon system branch and changes to operational training methodology for Agniveers.
New Delhi: On Saturday, The Indian Air Force is celebrating its 90th anniversary in Chandigarh. On this day, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari announced that the government has approved the creation of a weapon system branch for IAF officers. “Creation of infrastructure is in progress,” he said. He also announced the creation of a new weapon system branch and changes to operational training methodology for Agniveers.
This is the first time since Independence that a new operational branch is created, the IAF chief announced on the occasion of Air Force Day. According to the IAF Chief, the creation of this branch would result in savings of over Rs 3,400 crore due to the reduced expenditure on flying training.
The IAF chief also said, “We’ve changed our operational training methodology to ensure that each Agniveer is equipped with the right skills and knowledge to start a career in IAF. In December this year, we’d be inducting 3,000 Agniveer Vayu for initial training. This number will go up in the years to come.” He futher said that Induction of air warriors into the Indian Air Force through the Agnipath scheme is a challenge but more importantly, it is an opportunity to “harness the potential of India”.
“On this historic occasion, it’s my privilege to announce that government has approved the creation of a weapon system branch for the officers in the Indian Air Force,” he said. The last one year the IAF had its share of challenges and the force has taken all head-on with all guns blazing, be it the continued deployment along the borders or rescuing Indians from conflict zones, the IAF chief said congratulating the force.
As the IAF chief enumerated the challenges lying ahead, he said the traditional domains of land, sea and air have expanded to space and cyber and converged into a hybrid warfare. Hence conventional system and weapons need to be updated with modern, adaptive technology. “We must accept that tomorrow’s conflicts can’t be fought with yesterday’s mindset,” he said
