The Indian Air Force (IAF) has planned out a detailed strategy to protect Delhi’s skies at the time of the G20 Summit on September 9-10, with a number of assets put in place to defend the national capital from a wide scope of potential threats. “A number of arms and ammunitions are deployed including a range of fighter jets, different types of surface-to-air missile systems, and airborne surveillance platforms to anti-drone systems, The Air Force will be on high alert and will look to detect, track, and neutralize any airborne threat, over the weekend,” said one of the officials of security.

Another official of security reported, “IAF’s air security cover has taken the position to safeguard the capital against a wide range of hazards including drones, gliders, smaller aircraft, missiles, and even fighter planes.” IAF has the capability to locate and hunt down dangers at a distance of up to hundreds of kilometers and execute the steps required to balance them. IAF’s Operations Direction Centre (ODC) and the Joint Command and Analysis Centre (JCAC) operations center at IGI Airport will have the key responsibility of guarding the skies ahead of such a major event in which the heads of state including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will participate.

“After a threat is detected, ODC will employ the right platform to counter it,” said the first official. “Some fighter jets at airbases near Delhi, including the ones in Punjab and Haryana, will be ‘operational readiness platform’. The main purpose of these platforms will be to get the jets to fly in the air in 5 to 7 minutes to react to any situation. IAF’s airborne prior alert and control aircraft and the indigenous airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems will be employed during the conference for surveillance, detection, and tracking of potential threats at spans of up to 400 km,” the officers added.

Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd) said that whenever any high-profile meeting of the level of G20 takes place in a nation, the air defence needs to be intact as we can not allow any mishappening to occur. The steps like air defense systems positioning, airborne and ground-based radar coverage, anti-drone techniques, and keeping armed fighter jets on halt, will always be ready for actions. “These systems provide two options called  ‘soft kill’ and ‘hard kill’ to counter aerial dangers. The first refers to obstructing the enemy drone, while the second includes a laser-based kill approach.” The drone attack on an IAF command in Jammu two years ago is said to be the first-ever offensive use of drones to attack an Indian military center. It was a watershed in asymmetric combat and underlined the requirement for the army forces to learn capabilities to prevent, detect and neutralize such threats.

Also read: https://www.theindiasaga.com/nation/g20-2023-new-delhi-is-ready-to-host-the-historical-summit