SOURCE: Tribune News Service
After the Chinese build-up along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh, the Navy’s fleet of sophisticated surveillance planes, the Boeing P8I, has been regularly flying from Rajali near Chennai to scan the Himalayas and across. The sky watch adds to the satellite and local UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) imagery. The sweep and reach of the P8I is wider than that of a UAV. Also, it can be flown on demand at any time of the day or night, unlike the Indian satellites that have a schedule to cover.
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)-provided Data Link Communications allows the P8I to exchange tactical data live to ground stations, the South Block and the Navy data collation centre at Gurugram. The plane, designed for a maritime role, carries high-end electro-optical equipment that picks up minute details. It was also used during the Doklam standoff (June-August 2017) with China.
“The planes remain at their home base and have not been moved northwards,” a top functionary said. They have an extended range of flying some 3,500 km with additional fuel tanks, which means a plane or a pair of them can scan the Himalayas, land at any of the IAF bases in North India, refuel, and go back to Rajali. The Navy has been using the Boeing P8I planes since 2013 and now has a fleet of eight, another four are set to arrive anytime and six additional ones are being negotiated for. The US Navy, Australian Navy and several allies of the US use the same plane, modified from the Boeing’s commercial planes 737-800ERX.
Separately, the Indian establishment is making a push to provide assistance to Island countries in the Indian Ocean where China is facing a negative opinion due to the Covid-19 pandemic. India has sent doctors, medicines, PPE kits and food provisions to these islands amid the crisis. “To keep the Indian Ocean Region countries as cohesive as possible is the target,” said a top functionary. The presence of China in the Indian Ocean cannot be the new normal and the space created for human assistance due to the outbreak has to be filled up. Indian naval ships in the past two months have delivered aid to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros.
Surveillance plane
The range of Boeing P8I is wider than that of a UAV
Boeing P8I are being regularly flown from Rajali near Chennai to scan the Himalayas
Designed for a maritime role, it carries high-end electro-optical equipment that picks up minute details
