In the run-up to the G-20 Summit here next week, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday began a 10-day exercise along its northern borders with China and Pakistan to secure the airspace and check any rogue drone or aircraft sneaking into the Indian territory to spoil the spirit of the mega event.
Nearly 70 VVIP aircraft, including Air Force One carrying the US President, will land at the Palam Technical airport of the IAF here for the G20 Summit. Four other airports around the national Capital have been designated as reserve airports for any contingencies, officials said.
The exercise styled as Trishul (trident in English) will run until September 14 in the regions of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab, sources said. The drills will include fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters. The IAF has deployed a battery of airborne early warning systems and air defence missile systems at vital locations to keep an eye in the sky, officials said. Sources said the Army along with the IAF, Delhi Police and paramilitary forces, will deploy anti-drone systems to prevent aerial threats, while 400 firefighters will remain on standby. The northern regions of the nation will remain under vigilant surveillance through the utilisation of the Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS).
The four other airports earmarked as reserve are Lucknow, Jaipur, Amritsar and Indore, sources said. PK Mishra, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena oversaw the arrangements at Palam Technical Airport.
The four reserve airports were identified at a high-level meeting with officials from the Union Home Ministry, the Intelligence Bureau, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, the Central Industrial Security Force and the Delhi Inter-national Airport Limited. The Air Traffic Control has been directed to be on high alert and monitor all flights entering Delhi. In case of any emergency situation, flights will be diverted to any of the four airports that are part of the contingency plan, the sources said.
The VVIPs will land at the technical airport but aircraft and private jets carrying them will be parked at the Delhi airport. Special arrangements have been made to park the Air Force One and a few other important aircraft at the Palam Air Force Station.