Indian Air Force to increase its role in defeating Maoist rebels

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The fatal attack on Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh seems to have convinced the Indian Air Force (IAF) to play a significant role in defeating the Maoist rebels that have been resisting the Indian government for over four decades. The IAF will increase support for the operations in densely-forested Bastar region.

Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne has announced significant increase in the new systems in the Maoist-hit areas to provide better surveillance capabilities to the forces stationed there. Six MI-17 choppers from a unit based in Gorakhpur are currently operating from three different locations.

“We are going to raise a unit of our latest MI-17 V5 choppers in Nagpur by next month which will provide full support to anti-Naxal operations in Jagdalpur,” the IAF chief said.

The IAF chief said three C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift aircraft will be acquired from Beoing in June. These aircraft will be based at Hindon air base in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. He also explained that a new unit would be located in close proximity of Chhattisgarh in order to reduce response time of possible incidents. The decision to deploy additional choppers was taken two months ago.

Maoist rebels have been fighting against the system for over four decades. They demand the rights of tribal and rural people living in the remote areas of India. Maoist rebels, inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, mostly live in the state of West Bengal where the movement began as a peasant uprising in the late 1980s.