In hardly a duration worth measuring or mentioning, three quiet objects from the yonder skies were zooming in on the Air Force Station, Thanjavur.
As the curious onlookers on ground craned their necks and trained their shielded eyes on them, the objects emerged from the backdrop of the rising Sun as the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft in a thunderous “VIC” classical strike formation, spewing fumes from their tails even as they quickly disappeared into the clear blue heavens.
Their wake turbulence had hardly settled when another Su-30 MKI flew in at more than 800 kmph to do an artistic “Figure of 8” manoeuvre within a tight radius of 500 metres right atop the AFS to the wonder and admiration of the people on the ground before heading somewhere.
Power and skillsThe awesome power of the machine and the agile skills of the men in its cockpit were there for all to see.
“These sorties and exercises we perform routinely are to keep us and our machines ready to defend the skies, the nation’s people and our economic interests,” points out Station Commander Group Captain V.J. Singh to the awestruck group of media who were invited as guests to have a glimpse of the day's proceedings at the Air Force Station.
This is a familiarisation measure to sensitise the public ahead of the Indian Air Force's 84th anniversary later in October, Group Capt. Singh adds.
Stating that AFS Thanjavur will be assuming critical strategic importance in the years ahead in the IAF's thrust to marshal the skies for protection of our strategic and economic interests with the deployment of vital assets to perform multi role actions, Gr. Capt. Singh, who is also an ace Su-30 pilot and instructor, proudly says that the IAF was the backbone of the nation's defence mechanism rendering great service during times of conflict and peace.
The IAF views the southern peninsula as a strategically important area and hence will try to deploy flexible air power in the developing of AFS Thanjavur so that varied assets could be placed in the desired spots within a short time, Gr. Capt. Singh noted.
That is why the air superiority all weather long range fighters such as the Su-30 MKI have been regularly flying into AFS Thanjavur.
Outlining the advantages of Su-30 MKI, sources in the base mentioned that the high angle of attack, mid air refuelling capacity, robust radars that have the ability to track 15 air targets and engage four of them simultaneously, power to detect ground targets even 40 km away, carrying 12 hard points where missiles are hitched and all packed to deliver the lethal punch at a maximum speed of Mach 2 (2,100 km per hour) make for a great machine which is a proud possession of the IAF.
And long after a Su-30 MKI taxied to the end of the run way releasing its brake parachute and the invited guests prepared to leave, the boom of the metal bird continued to ring in their ears.
