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| IAF should become aerospace force: Air Chief | | |
NEW DELHI Mar 31
Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major on Sunday became the first helicopter pilot to don the mantle of Chief of the Air Staff after which he said his thrust would be on shoring up the falling fighter strength of the country and pushing up the pace of modernisation in the force.
In this context, the international tenders for purchase of 126 Medium Range Combat aircraft would be "out soon", he said.
Taking over the reins of the Air Force from Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi, who retired on Sunday after 43 years of illustrious service, Major in his opening message to air warriors asked them to work towards transforming the IAF into an "aerospace force".
"It is only through the employment of space based application that we can be more effective beyond our shores" Major said in his 'order of the day'.
"Hardware may give us the capabilities, but it is the man behind the machine that can give us the winning edge," he said.
A crack chopper pilot with the distinction of having logged 7,765 flying hours, Major has commanded helicopter units both in world's highest battlefield Siachen and IPKF operations in Sri Lanka for which he won a Vayu Seve Medal (Gallantry).
Major's hour of glory came on October 14,1992, when he undertook a dare-devil rescue act by winching up 11 tourists stranded in a disabled cable car at tourist resort of Timber Trail near Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh.
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