The Hindu : Changed role for Tezpur IAF base

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, May 31, 2003

National

National

Changed role for Tezpur IAF base

By Sandeep Dikshit

TEZPUR MAY 30. The busiest fighter air base in the country in the 1970s, the runways of the Air Force base here still bustle with activity. Bound by the mighty Brahmaputra on the one side and the foothills of the Himalayas on the other, the runways resound with the thunderous clap of 70 fighter sorties that take off on each working day. Helicopters here log at least 3,000 flying hours every year.

The role, however, has changed following the mending of fences with China. The base now hosts ``MOFTU'' (MiG operational flying training unit) for training young officers on MiG-21s before they are commissioned as full-fledged pilots.

The base is now geared more towards training, supplying to Army posts across unyielding forests and casualty evacuation of civilians and armed forces personnel.

With India and China settling into a more mature relationship on the border, the Air Force personnel here see pachyderms as more of a threat. Walking in herds of 40 to 50, the elephants are known to have brought down pillars and barbed wire fences and made their way across the base to the river.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) allowed the visiting media extensive interaction with the trainers and their fresh-faced wards based in the scenic airbase, in an effort to dispel the impression that this venerable backbone of the fighter fleet was crashing too often for comfort.

The frequent media bashing each time a MiG-21 hits the ground has made parents of trainee pilots apprehensive about their sons' well-being. The IAF will not admit it officially, but adverse media coverage is also dissuading young men from opting to become fighter pilots. They apparently feel there are better ways to serve the country.

The Air Force base chief, P. K. Barbora, admits to a problem of spares, but dispels the impression of low morale and recurring crashes. ``No one who is unwilling will be pushed into the cockpit,'' he declares. Pointing to the trainee pilots assembled around him, he adds: ``If they were scared, they will not be flying. The media should be more responsible. The accident rate per 10,000 sorties is similar to that suffered by other air forces''.

In the 13 months of Air Commodore Barbora's stewardship, no crashes have occurred because of human error. In the last 12 months, there have been two cases of bird-hits, but no damage to the aircraft was reported.

Technical defects too have been rare. Once an engine blade broke after take-off and on another occasion there was a tyre deflation. Accidents can happen any time, but to blame the MiG-21s alone is being unfair, he says. ``Though the planes are old, they are not allowed to fly till they are airworthy. No machine in the world is totally fool-proof. Even space shuttles have crashed,'' he points out.

Is the base and its men looking forward to the advanced jet trainer (AJT) that will replace the oldest version of MiG-21s being currently used for training? ``You bet,'' says the Air Commodore.

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