The Southern Air Command believes in being prepared to meet future operational challenges rather than fall back and revel in the glory of past successes. A number of operational exercises at honing operational efficiency was conducted by SAC in the last year.

Shramo dadati sidhim is Southern Air Command’s (SAC) motto and long before 26/11 rudely brought home the challenges from the sea, the command had already instituted the process of envisaging the changing geostrategic paradigms and institutionalising measures for meeting the challenges.

Legacy issues are relegated to the background and the tendency is to dwell more on future operational challenges rather than fall back and revel in the glory of past successes. It is precisely this aspect which characterises the operational surge of SAC and it is no surprise that the mantle of maritime air operations has passed to SAC. Along with the AD cover afforded by radars and allied equipment, a potent force of maritime Jaguars and Su-30 aircraft have now been placed at its disposal. The mounting of live operational readiness platforms (ORPs) of air superiority fighters (ASFs) in the area of responsibility (AOR) of SAC for the first time ever in 2009-10 makes a powerful and definite statement which resonates across the seven seas. This operational transition, beyond sensors and allied equipment onto weapons, marks the beginning of a new epoch in air operations in the southern peninsula.

SAC is in charge of the largest airspace of the nation. In terms of figures, out of the total national airspace of 2.8 million sq nm, 1.76 million sq nm is maritime and the remaining 1.04 million sq nm is land based. Even on land, the geographical expanse covered by SAC is enormous. The efforts of SAC are directed at obtaining the best possible operational solutions and anticipating future needs, planning accordingly and enabling seamless integration of future assets.

Joint Exercises: The typicality of the terrain also endow the unique requirement of not only thinking jointly, but also planning and conducting operations jointly with the other services and the Navy in particular. The numerous joint exercises conducted by SAC in the peninsular region are a manifestation of its thrust areas. SAC believes that where the operational challenges are to be met jointly, the quest for operational solutions is also connected.

The economic, nuclear, technological and other powerhouses of the nation are also based in the AOR of SAC. The southern peninsula is geostrategically located at the cross-junction of the maritime trade routes as also air routes. The likely targets, threat patterns and geostrategic dynamics are progressively shifting towards the peninsula and the operational implications are clear. The focus of SAC is thus on obtaining operational solutions to challenges and improving capabilities as additional resources are made available.

The challenge is not only to meet the existing and foreseen challenges of the changing security paradigms, but to meet these challenges without disturbing the existing deployment of forces or resorting to knee-jerk acquisitions which would cause additional expenditure to the exchequer. Keeping this in view, the responsibility of conducting and coordinating maritime air operations was transferred to SAC with the result that the potent fighter aircraft are now not only available, but the tempo in conjunction with the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard has also touched hitherto unknown levels.