Lessons from Budgam

Five personnel of the Indian Air Force, including two officers, have been found guilty after a probe concluded that the Mi-17 helicopter that crashed in Budgam on February 27 was hit by a ground-fired IAF missile. The ‘fratricide’ took place on a day when India and Pakistan were locked in an air duel over Nowshera in Jammu and Kashmir. Six IAF personnel and a civilian on the ground were killed when the chopper was brought down by a surface-to-air missile fired from the Srinagar air base. It was the day when Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s jet was downed by Pakistan and had caused alarm over the helicopter also falling to ‘enemy’ fire. 

The incident has raised question marks over the procedural lapses and the safety measures taken. The Air Traffic Control had called back the helicopter after the air duel between Indian and Pakistani jets escalated when it should have been sent to a safer zone or made to land at a designated safe spot. The ‘friend or foe’ identification system was switched off against the norms. Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa removed the Air Officer Commanding of the Srinagar air base and more officers are likely to face court martial for procedural lapses.

Lapses and the punishment apart, the quality of air surveillance itself is under a cloud. It has to be ensured that the radars used in the forward areas are equipped with the latest technology. The target ambiguity in old radars is high. Latest air defence technology involving the use of synthetic aperture radars should be used in areas where the volume of target across the general hostile area is high. It will make the task of identification of friend or foe much easier. Inexactness in identifying makes the task tougher after the missiles get locked onto the target. There is also great dependence on the ground controller for identifying the target. The practice of having a forward area controller to monitor air movement would help in checking target ambiguity. Modernisation remains the bottom line to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.