Air operations in Kargil
Narendra Gupta
The Hindu
June 19, 1999
Title: Air operations in Kargil
Author: Narendra Gupta
Publication: The Hindu
Date: June 19, 1999
I WRITE this piece with a feeling of deep revulsion at the savage,
inhuman behaviour of the Pakistani troops towards the downed MiG-21
pilot, Sqn. Ldr. Ajay Ahuja, and the captured Lt. Kalia and his five
colleagues. If anything, this will only increase the resolve of the
Army and the Air Force to repel the Pakistani aggressor and avenge the
torture and killings of prisoners who were not combatants any more. As
it is, the casualties returning from the Kargil front are a heart-
rending trauma for the relatives and friends of those injured or
killed.
One needs to understand the environment in which our planes are
operating. The aircraft fly through air. It is the flow of air over
the wings of the airplanes and over the rotor blades of helicopters
that provides a lifting force to support the craft up in the sky. At
high altitudes, the air density is much less than what obtains at
lower heights for which the craft are designed. Consequently, for the
same forward speed, the lifting force correspondingly reduces with the
rarefied atmosphere.
The terrain in the Kargil area is 16,000 to 18,000 feet above the sea
level. The aircraft are, therefore, required to fly at about 20,000
feet. At these heights, the density of air is roughly 30 per cent less
than that at the sea level. This causes a reduction in weight that can
be carried and also reduces the ability to manoeuvre as the radius of
a turn is higher than at lower levels. The engine performance also
deteriorates with altitude as for the same forward speed, there is a
lesser mass of air going into the jet engine of the fighter or the
helicopter.
The Indian airfields nearest to the targets in Kargil are the Srinagar
air base and the neighbouring military airfield, Avantipur. Therefore,
the IAF has to operate primarily from these two bases. As per
newspaper and television reports, the fixed- wing planes being used
for ground attack are the single-seat MiG- 21s and MiG-27s. The MiG-21
is the older type of jet fighter built mainly for air interception
with a secondary role of ground attack. Its avionics and weapons are
of the 80s vintage. However, this fighter is capable of operating in
restricted spaces which would be of importance in the Kargil terrain.
The swing-wing MiG- 27 is an airplane optimised for attacking targets
on the ground. It can carry a load of roughly four tonnes which could
be a mix of various weapons including 23-mm machineguns, rocket pods,
multiple carriage freefall bombs of various varieties, retarded bombs
and smart weapons. It has a computerised bomb sight which enables
accurate weapon delivery. Its variable geometry wings are kept forward
at 14 degrees sweep for takeoff and landing and whenever required to
fly at slower speeds. The other two sweep positions are for combat and
for high speed getaway. The MiG-27 is, therefore, ideal for employment
in the high and mountainous terrain of Kargil. It is understood that
the Mirage-2000 planes are carrying out electronic warfare and
reconnaissance.
Because of the need to engage Pakistani targets in the valleys and on
ridges, a helicopter gunship became an imperative. The load carrying
logistics Mi-17 was hence modified to carry four rocket pods, each
with a capacity of 16 or 32 air-to-ground rockets. This helicopter is
proving very effective in engaging Pakistani bunkers and troops,
although one helicopter and its four crew members have been lost to an
American-built Stinger surface-to-air heat seeking missile fired by
regular Pakistani troops. The other helicopter in use is the small,
agile Cheetah. The Cheetah is used to stay outside Pakistani gun range
and direct artillery fire at the Pakistani targets. It is also used as
an airborne Forward Air Controller (FAC) to guide our fighters to the
targets.
In the high mountains, the air crew have various difficulties in
carrying out their operational missions. We have discussed the
lowering of aircraft performance because of the rarefied atmosphere.
Thus pilots have to be very careful while flying in the valleys. The
larger radius of turn also increases the height lost in a pullout from
dive. Thus, the pullout has to be initiated at a higher height.
Therefore, the weapon release height has to be correspondingly raised.
This may cause inaccuracies in the aiming of weapons. The non-standard
air density also affects the trajectory of the weapons which has been
calculated for sea level firing. The firing hence may not be accurate.
In the mountains, be they in the valleys or on the ridges, the targets
are relatively small, spread out and difficult to spot visually
particularly by high speed fighter jets. This becomes worse in low
visibility conditions or when there is clouding en route or over the
target. These are some of the odds against the aircrew operating at
Kargil. However, one learns to overcome these difficulties and find
solutions with ingenuity and determination.
On a typical day of operations, if the first few missions are to be on
target at first light (20 minutes before sunrise), the pilots would be
reporting at their flight offices about two hours before Time On
Target (TOT). After a short medical examination by the unit doctor,
they would be briefed on the weather at the base and in the target
area and the latest intelligence reports. The Flight Commander would
then tell them about the specific target, composition of the force and
pilots, weapons to be carried and TOT. The Ground Liaison Officer
(GLO) - generally an army officer - would give the latest Sitrep
(Situation Report), details of the strike demand from the Army, radio
call signs of the FAC in the target area and detailed target
description. If the mission is accepted, the GLO would inform the army
formation demanding the strike. The pilots then mark the route on
their maps, calculate the transit time to target and hence the time of
take-off. The take-off time is conveyed to the ATC and to the GLO. The
formation leader then briefs the other pilots in the strike mission on
the relative positions to be kept by the aircraft and the tactics to
be adopted. The pilots grab a quick cup of coffee and a biscuit or a
sandwich and walk to the airplanes.
In the meantime, the technicians also come early to work. They carry
out detailed checks on the planes being launched, refuel, charge
oxygen, load the gun ammunition, rockets or the other ordnance as
instructed, the infra-red decoy flares and get the aircraft ready for
the missions. When the pilots arrive at the flight line, the ground
crew helps them strap up in the cockpit. In the technology intensive
world of military aviation, there has to be close teamwork among all
involved, be they the pilots, the technicians, the ATC controller and
the administrative and logistic personnel. This close teamwork and
interdependence create visible camaraderie among them all.
Regardless of how brave a pilot is, before a mission he tends to lose
his appetite and sense of humour and no amount of water quenches his
thirst. However, once he gets busy with the pre- flight cockpit
checks, the fear of the unknown is forgotten and total professionalism
and peer pride take over. Returning from a trip, the appetite and
humour return.
(The writer is a former Air Vice-Marshal)
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