Page 315 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

Glacier in the contested Kashmir region. In Operation Meghdoot, IAF’s
Mi-8, Chetak and Cheetah helicopters airlifted hundreds of Indian troops

to Siachen. Launched on 13 April 1984, this military operation was

unique because of Siachen’s inhospitable terrain and climate. The
military action was successful, given the fact that under a previous

agreement, neither Pakistan nor India had stationed any personnel in the
area. The Indian forces, facing no opposition, took control over most of

the heights on the glacier.

1987 Sri Lanka

92. Following the failure to negotiate an end to the Sri Lankan Civil War,

and to provide humanitarian aid through an unarmed convoy of ships,
the Indian government decided to carry out an airdrop of humanitarian

supplies on the evening of 4 June 1987, designated Operation Poomalai
or Eagle Mission 4. Five AN-32s escorted by five Mirage 2000s carried

out the supply drop, which faced no opposition from the Sri Lankan

Armed Forces. Sri Lanka accused India of “blatant violation of
sovereignty”. India insisted that it was acting only on humanitarian

grounds.

93. In 1987, the IAF supported the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in

northern and eastern Sri Lanka in Operation Pawan. About 70,000
sorties were flown by the IAF’s transport and helicopter force in support

of nearly 1,00,000 troops and paramilitary forces without a single

aircraft lost or mission aborted. IAF AN-32s maintained a continuous air
link between air bases in South India and Northern Sri Lanka

transporting men, equipment, rations and evacuating casualties.

1988 Maldives

94. On the night of 3 November 1988, the Indian Air Force mounted special
operations to airlift a parachute battalion group from Agra, non-stop

over 2,000kms to the remote Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives

in response to Maldivian President Gayoom’s, request for military help