By IANS,
New Delhi : India’s use of air power in an offensive role would have resulted in a different outcome of the 1962 war with China, a top Indian commander said Friday.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne, said here that he was “absolutely convinced” that the war outcome would have been different had the air force used its offensive assets during the war in 1962.
“Bilkul (certainly). Outcome mein bahut farak hota (the outcome would have been different),” Browne said, in reply to a query if the use of air power during the 1962 conflict would have helped. He was addressing the customary annual press conference ahead of the annual Air Force Day parade Oct 8. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the IAF.
India had lost the October-November 1962 war, which has remained a scar on the national psyche for 50 years now.
However, in recent years, India and China have warmed up to each other, with both sides asserting they wanted friendly co-existence to ensure their respective growth and development.
In 1962, the IAF had not used its combat aircraft and had deployed only its cargo planes for transporting troops and supplies to the northern and eastern frontiers.
To buttress his point, Browne also recollected that the use of air power during the 1999 Kargil war with Pakistan, when the IAF’s combat planes pounding enemy positions had resulted in the conflict ending early.
“It is the air power that concluded that (Kargil) war,” he said.
He also noted that the air force, along with its think-tank Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), would hold a discussion later this month on the 1962 war and the non-use of air power.