Published 18:33 IST, January 20th 2020
CDS Bipin Rawat: 'Sukhoi SU30 MKI set to protect land and air'
CDS Bipin Rawat stated The Sukhoi will help protect India's waters owing to its strategic importance with location; it is all set to back India's Armed forces.
Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat, on Monday, said the Sukhoi SU-30 MKI aircraft can dominate the land and the skies and will provide support to Indian Navy as well as ground forces.
'A strategic location'
The CDS and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria inducted the first Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft squadron at the Thanjavur airbase in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to news agency ANI, the CDS said,
"Triple two squadron has been resurrected with the SU-30 MKI aircraft. It is armed with the BrahMos missile. By virtue of the fact that it is located in Thanjavur, which is strategically prominent in the southern peninsula from where it can dominate the seas, it will provide close and integrated support to the Indian Navy. Simultaneously, any other task that may be entrusted to the squadron in support of the land forces can easily be accomplished by this. Not only is it strategically located, but it also helps us at integrating this particular squadron and the Air Force with the land forces and the Navy."
The CDS also said the missile is capable of defending the country's territorial waters and that the Sukhoi will only add to the strength of the Navy.
Bipin Rawat took over as the CDS on January 1, a day after his term as the Army Chief ended. He was asked about a single command force and said, "We are working towards it. The structure and shape of these commands, we will work out jointly with the three services. We will not be copying any model. We will come out with our own mechanism to see how best it is suited to the Indian requirement."
Updated 18:33 IST, January 20th 2020