An Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MKI lands at the Pasighat ALG. (Photo : Indian Air Force)
India has finished upgrading four Indian Air Force (IAF) airfields 100 km or less from its border with China at Arunachal Pradesh state -- which China claims to own and will try to seize in the event of a war -- and will finish the construction of two more within the year as it tries to match an equally massive Chinese build-up of its air and missile power.
The widely publicized inauguration this August of the Pasighat Advanced Landing Ground (Pasighat ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh was intended to reassure the public the Indian Armed Forces is taking Chinese military provocations seriously.
Pasighat ALG is located only 100 km from the Chinese border and has been completely refurbished so it can handle India's most modern military aircraft, including the potent Indian-made Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole air superiority fighter with a range of 3,000 km and all other types of military helicopters.
An IAF Su-30MKI landed at Pasighat during the inauguration of the airfield while three other fighters took off from other newly rebuilt ALGs in the state. Pasighat ALG is one of the operating bases under the Eastern Air Command and is considered a strategic asset greatly aiding in the defense of Arunachal Pradesh.
The blatant display of Indian airpower so close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was a signal to Beijing that India will defend the state China still claims to own despite the state always having been a part of India.
Last March and May, upgraded ALGs were inaugurated in Mechuka, Ziro, Along and Wallong, all in Arunachal Pradesh. Work is underway on upgrading the ALGs at Tuting and Tawang, also in Arunachal Pradesh.
Work on the Tuting ALG is almost complete with 75 percent of upgrade work finished. The ALG will become operational by end of this year. Upgrading the Tawang airstrip into an ALG is underway and is slated for completion by the first quarter of 2017. Reconstruction of the ALG at Vijaynagar will be undertaken after the road between Miao and Vijaynagar is restored.
The infrastructure in these ALGs consist of facilities such as new hard-surface runways; aprons for ground maneuvering; air traffic control towers and perimeter roads. The new ALGs can support all of India's military aircraft and their being such a short distance away from the border means the IAF can respond much more quickly in the event of a crisis.
Conversely, the ALG's locations this close to China means these airfields will be among the first the Chinese will attack in the event of hostilities.
"The ALGs will further enhance our existing operational capabilities in Eastern Air Command," said Air Marshal Hari Kumar during the inauguration of the Ziro and Along ALGs.
"The capacity build-up will enable operations by some of our new inductions, including the C-130J Super Hercules ... besides enhancing air maintenance capability of the IAF in the region, the new airfields (at Ziro and Along) will also facilitate civil air connectivity soon."
Despite the Indian military build-up, the military balance along the border is heavily against India.
China has deployed 300,000 men of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force along its border with India at Arunachal Pradesh. The Chinese have also built airfields at Hoping, Pangta and Kong Ka to support six existing airfields in the Tibetan Autonomous Region that can handle fighter jets and heavy transport aircraft.
Chinese ballistic missiles such as the DF-31 and DF-31A aimed at India have been deployed to Delingha, north of Tibet.
Arrayed against these forces are 120,000 Indian Army soldiers that will soon receive 90,000 reinforcements. Supporting these men are two IAF Su-30MKI squadrons from Tezpur in Assam. Also counted in India's favor is the forthcoming deployment of a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile regiment to the state.
