Significance of the Terrorist Attack on Pathankot Airbase
- In Current Affairs
- 07:36 PM, Jan 04, 2016
- Vijainder K Thakur
The Pathankot airbase is neither tactically, nor strategically significant. It just happens to be 40-kms from the international border.The proximity of the base to the Indo-Pak border was an advantage in the sixties and seventies, because the Indian Air Force (IAF) was equipped with very short range interceptors and strike aircraft.
Pathankot was the first IAF base to host MiG-21 fighters procured from the erstwhile Soviet Union. Basing the very capable but short range interceptor close to the frontline was a smart move, albeit a move that did not pay dividends. During the 1965 war, MiG-21s and Gnats were based at Pathankot. The Gnat, like the MiG-21 was a very capable but short endurance interceptor. The Pathankot basing should have made the two aircraft very useful, but the lack of surveillance radar and concrete shelters at the airbase exposed IAF aircraft to enemy attacks and reduced the effectiveness of the deployment. On September 6, 1965 PAF Sabres surprised and mauled the IAF at Pathankot destroying two MiG-21s, 10 Gnats, and six Mystere IV-A, and one Packet transport aircraft on the ground.
The acquisition of longer range interceptors such as MiG-29, Mirage-2000 and Su-30MKI from the mid-80s onwards, reduced the relevance of Pathankot airbase. The proximity of the airbase to the border started to become a liability.The airbase currently hosts MiG-21 Bison interceptors and Mi-25/Mi-35 attack helicopters. During operations these aviation assets would be well dispersed, and parked in concrete shelters (MiG-21s) or camouflaged parking areas (Helicopters, Transports). The airbase is defended with missiles and a network of radars keeps vigil.
In peacetime, aviation assets at IAF bases are not dispersed and secured as well as in war time. They are usually lined up on the tarmac during day and moved into hangars during night. Assuming that the aviation assets at Pathankot were not dispersed on January 2, 2016, the terror attack at Pathankot could have caused substantial losses and embarrassment.
Challenges in Defending IAF Bases
The IAF is in the process of acquiring and deploying UAVs, networked sensors and specialized vehicles for securing the perimeters of its air bases, especially those in close proximity to the border. The extent to which the Pathankot airbase is secured would be classified information.
The fact that the terrorists were able to breach the perimeter may or may not be proof of a lapse in security. The truth is, there is no defense that cannot be breached with careful study, planning and equipping. That is the nature of warfare - Maginot Line, Bar-lev line, Bagram airbase, you name it!
Pathankot is a sprawling airbase with a domestic area that is as large as a small city. There is a forest within the airbase, a canal flows through it! How well can it be secured. What the perimeter breach at Pathankot does prove is that superb planning went into the terrorist operation It wasn't happenstance that 5 or more terrorists managed to force their way into the airbase despite a security alert, and went on to battle the best of our security forces for two days! They were able to do so because they were trained for months, perhaps years, and briefed well by their handlers in Pakistan. And who could have given military training and prepared them so well, using perhaps satellite pictures. A non-descript madrassa? Or the Pakistan Army?
Pathankot airbase was obviously chosen more for effect than its value as a strategic asset. The symbolism in a successful attack on a frontline IAF base is profound as the three services are the last bastion for the defense of the nation. The failure of the terrorist to destroy aviation assets on the base is at best a pyrrhic victory for India.
Remedial Measures
The IAF or the Indian Army (IA) cannot prevent a repeat of what happened at Pathankot merely by sprucing up perimeter defense. What the IAF could do is rethink Pathankot. Should Pathankot remain an Air Force base or be downgraded to a forward base that hosts aviation assets only during exercises or operations? Such a down gradation would reduce the incentive for attacking the airbase.
One reason why Pathankot airbase is permanently manned is because it is ideally positioned for ORP (Operational Readiness Platform), between Srinagar and Bhatinda. An ORP is used to launch interceptors within 2 minutes of an intrusion being detected. Fighter aircraft are kept on 24-hr readiness. Turning Pathankot into a forward base that is occasionally manned would create a gap in our air-defense possibly allowing a peacetime intrusion to go unchallenged.
The political leadership of the country, can do much more than the IAF and IA to dissuade such attacks. It's interesting that there isn't a single reputed defense analyst in India who feels that we India should refrain from punitive military action when such strikes occur, yet the political leadership refuses to act. Why? Because western analysts suggest otherwise? Make-in-India is fine, but how about Listen-to-India?
Ignoring the rising belligerence of the Pakistani military leadership is no more an option. Our leaders must snap out of their collective nuclear funk - Pakistani generals are belligerent, but not suicidal. Unless jihadist takeover the Pakistan army completely, which cannot happen, there is no chance of an Indian retaliation spiraling out of control into a nuclear war.
Comments