After the terror attack over three years back, a security apparatus is being put in place for the protection of the Pathankot Air Base in Punjab, which will soon be replicated at all Indian Air Force (IAF) stations across the country, Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria has said.
His comments at a press conference came amidst intelligence inputs about the possibility of a terror attack on the lines of the one carried out in January 2016, at the Pathankot Air Base, which is close to the Pakistan border. Seven security personnel and six Pakistani terrorists were killed in an intense gunfight after the attackers entered the complex by breaching the perimeter wall.
In the aftermath of that attack, the IAF has undertaken a pilot project to install an Integrated Perimeter Security System (IPSS) at the Pathankot Air Base. “The IPSS programme is underway at the Pathankot Air Base. It is a pilot project which is running late by around two months. The pilot project will be completed between November and December. It will be replicated across all air force stations thereafter,” Bhadauria said.
A composite surveillance system, including video analytics through the use of a set of equipment and sub-systems in order to generate decision-making solutions, is the crux of the IPSS. During the press conference, Bhadauria said that he will carry forward the legacy of the IAF along with progress through training, modernisation and indigenisation during his term in office. Bhadauria, who took over as the Air Chief on September 30, said several steps have been taken by the IAF to augment its strength.
