Mirpur Khas | IMR https://imrmedia.in/tag/mirpur-khas/ Indian Military Review, Defense News, Indian Defence Review Tue, 28 Mar 2023 09:37:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4 https://imrmedia.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/cropped-IMR-Logo-512x512-px-32x32.jpg Mirpur Khas | IMR https://imrmedia.in/tag/mirpur-khas/ 32 32 IAF Starts Building New Base at Deesa https://imrmedia.in/iaf-starts-building-new-base-at-deesa/ https://imrmedia.in/iaf-starts-building-new-base-at-deesa/#respond Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:42:00 +0000 https://imrmedia.in/?p=15710 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 19 October, laid the foundation stone for Indian Air Force (IAF)’s new airbase at Deesa in Banaskantha district of Gujarat and described it as an effective center of India’s security. He said the Deesa air base, mere 130 kilometers from the Indo-Pak border, will be able to give a better […]

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]]> Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 19 October, laid the foundation stone for Indian Air Force (IAF)’s new airbase at Deesa in Banaskantha district of Gujarat and described it as an effective center of India’s security. He said the Deesa air base, mere 130 kilometers from the Indo-Pak border, will be able to give a better response to any threat coming from the west.

Importance

Deesa air base, the fifth in Gujarat, will be the firewall between Pakistani aircraft taking off from Mirpur Khas, Hyderabad, Shahbaz F-16 airbase in Jacobabad. Gujarat’s more than a trillion dollar industrial complex in and around Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and Vadodara is a target for Pakistan in the worst-case scenario.

While Modi said the Deesa airbase will provide faster offensive capability to the IAF in this sector, the new airfield will also plug a crucial tactical gap between forward air bases at Naliya, Bhuj in Gujarat, and Phalodi in Rajasthan.

Deesa will also make Pakistani cities of Hyderabad, Karachi, and Sukkur vulnerable with its deep penetration strike aircraft.

The airbase can also be used to retaliate against Pakistan in case of a major terror strike in Gujarat or along the south-western sector apart from giving support to any land offensive in future. Indian fighters can cross over the international border in mere two minutes at Mach 2.0 speed if the red flag goes up.

Background

Although the land for Deesa airbase was allotted an in-principle approval given to IAF by the Vajpayee government way back in 2000, the project was put on a back burner by the UPA government for the next 14 years. The project was revived when Narendra Modi took over as prime minister. It was the 2017 massive floods in Banaskantha that really kick-started the project.

When prime minister Modi and then defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked IAF to provide flood relief, the Air HQ, then headed by Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa, found it very difficult to provide a relief air bridge to the affected areas due to bad weather and no nearby airfield as Deesa was still lying in files. Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman got the airbase approved by the government along with the Rs 1,000 crore funding.

Operational Status

Since Deesa is a forward airbase, the IAF has no intentions to deploy its frontline Rafale or Su-30 MKI fighters on this airfield. Instead, it will station air defence fighters like MiG-29 and Tejas so that enemy fighters are intercepted and their ability to target Gujarat’s industrial complex gets neutered.

Spread over an area of 4,519 acres and 130 km from the Indo-Pak border, Deesa is a greenfield air base. It is expected to be operational by 2024. The airbase, which currently only has a 22-kilometer boundary wall and 20 watchtowers, will be developed in two phases.

Phase 1 of the project will see the construction of the main runway, the taxi tracks, and the fighter squadron dispersal area. Phase 2 will take care of the technical infrastructure and accommodation, according to a report by India Today.

The Deesa airbase will come under the South Western Air Command. It will also help in improving surveillance in and around the region. Gujarat has four operational air bases in Vadodara, Jamnagar, Bhuj and Naliya in the Kutch district.

One of the primary reasons for constructing the Deesa air base is to protect the Jamnagar oil refinery owned by Reliance Industries Limited, which is also the world’s largest oil refinery.

Deesa will also endanger the Pakistani cities of Hyderabad, Karachi, and Sukkur with the IAF’s deep penetration strike aircraft.

Overall, the Deesa air base will provide the IAF with a faster offensive capability.

The new airbase will also close a tactical gap between the IAF’s forward air bases at Naliya, Bhuj in Gujarat, and Phalodi in Rajasthan.

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]]> https://imrmedia.in/iaf-starts-building-new-base-at-deesa/feed/ 0 New IAF Base to be set up at Deesa in Gujarat https://imrmedia.in/new-iaf-base-to-be-set-up-at-deesa-in-gujarat/ https://imrmedia.in/new-iaf-base-to-be-set-up-at-deesa-in-gujarat/#respond Wed, 19 Oct 2022 06:06:00 +0000 https://imrmedia.in/?p=14659 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 19 October, laid the foundation stone for Indian Air Force (IAF)’s new airbase at Deesa in Banaskantha district of Gujarat and described it as an effective center of India’s security. He said the Deesa air base, mere 130 kilometers from the Indo-Pak border, will be able to give a better […]

The post New IAF Base to be set up at Deesa in Gujarat appeared first on IMR.

]]> Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 19 October, laid the foundation stone for Indian Air Force (IAF)’s new airbase at Deesa in Banaskantha district of Gujarat and described it as an effective center of India’s security. He said the Deesa air base, mere 130 kilometers from the Indo-Pak border, will be able to give a better response to any threat coming from the western side.

The Deesa air base will be the fire wall between enemy aircraft taking off from Mirpur Khas, Hyderabad, Shahbaz F-16 airbase in Jacobabad in Pakistan with Gujarat’s more than a trillion dollar industrial complex in and around Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and Vadodara as target to economically hit India in the worst-case scenario.

Indian Air Force fighter taking off from Phalodi air base in Rajasthan. Deesa air base will plug the air defence gap between Bhuj and Phalodi air bases.

Although the land for Deesa airbase was allotted an in-principle approval given to Indian Air Force (IAF) by the Vajpayee government way back in 2000, the project was put on a back burner by the UPA government for the next 14 years. Although the project was revived when Narendra Modi took over as PM, it was the 2017 massive floods in Banaskantha that really kick-started the project.

When PM Modi and then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked IAF to provide flood relief, the Air Headquarters then headed by Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa found it very difficult to provide a relief air bridge to the affected area due to bad weather and no nearby airfield as Deesa was still lying-in files. It was then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who got the airbase approved by the government along with the ?1,000 crore funding.

It is quite evident that with PM Modi getting the funds released for the airbase construction through now Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the IAF will have a new forward base in the next two years with air defence fighter aircraft in position.

While PM Modi said the Deesa airbase will provide faster offensive capability to the IAF in this sector, the new airfield will also plug a crucial tactical gap between forward air bases at Naliya, Bhuj in Gujarat, and Phalodi in Rajasthan.

The Deesa air base will be the fire wall between enemy aircraft taking off from Mirpur Khas, Hyderabad, Shahbaz F-16 airbase in Jacobabad in Pakistan with Gujarat’s more than a trillion dollar industrial complex in and around Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar and Vadodara as target to economically hit India in the worst-case scenario. Deesa will also make Pakistani cities of Hyderabad, Karachi, and Sukkur vulnerable with its deep penetration strike aircraft.

Since Deesa is a forward airbase, the IAF has no intentions to deploy its frontline Rafale or Su-30 MKI fighters on this airfield. Instead, it will station air defence fighters like MiG-29 and Tejas so that enemy fighters are intercepted and their ability to target Gujarat’s industrial complex gets neutered.

The airbase can also be used to retaliate against Pakistan in case of a major terror strike in Gujarat or along the south-western sector apart from giving support to any land offensive in future.

With Deesa airbase expected to be operational in the next two years in 2024, the Pakistan air force is also expected to ramp up its air assets in the sector as Indian fighters can cross over the international border in mere two minutes at Mach 2.0 speed if the red flag goes up.

The post New IAF Base to be set up at Deesa in Gujarat appeared first on IMR.

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