IAF gets new school focused on specialised weapon systems training
- In Reports
- 11:54 PM, Jul 02, 2024
- Myind Staff
On Monday, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), inaugurated the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Weapon Systems School (WSS) at Air Force Station Begumpet, Hyderabad.
The new training facility provides cadets with four specialised streams, preparing them to handle surface-to-air weapons, remotely piloted aircraft, surface-to-surface weapon systems, and space-based intelligence.
In October 2022, Chaudhari announced the establishment of a weapon systems branch for officers, marking the IAF's first operational branch since independence.
“The new branch will have four streams -- flying stream to operate the weapons and systems in airborne platforms like the Sukhoi-30 MKI and C-130J, remote stream to operate remotely piloted aircraft, mission commanders and operators for surface-to-air and surface-to-surface weapon systems, and the intelligence stream for handling space-based intelligence and imagery,” IAF said in a statement on Tuesday.
Chaudhari stated that the creation of the weapon systems branch will unify operators of ground-based and specialist weapon systems, thereby enhancing the IAF's war-fighting capabilities. Addressing the instructors at the school, he referred to them as pioneers in the newly formed branch and the foundation upon which the entire envisioned training regime would be built.
The new branch will result in a saving of more than ₹3,400 crore due to reduced expenditure on flying training, Chaudhari had earlier said.
A new chapter has been introduced in the history of IAF with the inauguration of WSS, the statement said. “Aimed at recalibrating and transforming IAF as a future-oriented force, the formation of this new training establishment is a gigantic leap for the armed forces in general, and IAF in particular,” Tuesday’s statement said.
Following their initial training at the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and the Air Force Academy (AFA), Hyderabad, flight cadets selecting the weapon systems branch will undergo six months of training at the school before being commissioned as officers in the IAF. Those joining AFA directly will train at the academy for six months before transferring to the new school for an additional six months of specialised training.
The first batch of flight cadets at the new academy, headed Air Vice Marshal Premkumar Krishnaswamy, will graduate in December 2024.
WSS will impart contemporary training and prepare officers of the newly formed branch in line with the requirements of IAF, the statement said.
The creation of a weapon systems branch was necessary, said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), former additional director general of the Centre for Air Power Studies, when the new branch was announced.
“Weapon systems have become very sophisticated, requiring personnel with deep specialist knowledge to operate them. Ever since the Sukhoi-30s with the rear Weapon Systems Operator position and UAVs entered IAF inventory, the demand for a specialist branch was felt,” he said.
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