Rajat Pandit/TNN
New Delhi, Dec 5: With intelligence inputs holding terrorists could strike through the aerial route after the maritime one, the IAF has cranked up air defence measures to thwart any copycat strike of the al-Qaida's 9/11 strikes.
"This is based on a warning which has been received...We are prepared as usual,'' said Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major on Thursday, a day after defence minister A K Antony reviewed the "preparedness to deal with any terror strike from the air'' with the top military brass here.
From deploying additional surface-to-air missile batteries and "sensors'' around "vital assets'' in different cities to maintaining round-the-clock ORPs (operational readiness platforms) in the shape of fighter jets at various airbases, the IAF is trying to make the country's airspace as impregnable as possible.
"If a threat is detected, fighters will promptly be scrambled from the nearest airbase to intercept, escort and force a hijacked plane to land at a pre-selected airport,'' said a senior officer.
Fighters can even be authorised to shoot down the "rogue'' plane if there is is conclusive evidence that it could be used to blow up "strategic targets or establishments'', as per the existing anti-hijack policy.
The authority to give such a drastic order would, of course, vest with the PM, home or defence minister, and in the absence of political authority, with the Service chiefs.
There are, of course, problems. India is a large country and IAF simply does not have enough radars to cover every bit of the land. The radar coverage is particularly thin in central and peninsular India, with most of the "assets'' deployed towards the western and eastern borders. "But with some integration with civilian radars, we are trying to do our best with our limited resources,'' said a senior officer.
The airspace over New Delhi, which could be one of the main targets for an al-Qaida-like attack with the use of hijacked planes as "missiles'' against high-value targets, of course, is relatively much more secure.
"Air defence issues in the National Capital Region have been examined in detail and all necessary steps have been taken. Assets are in place to cater for any contingency,'' Western Air Command chief Air Marshal P K Barbora told TOI.
The government, on its part, is now moving faster to establish structures like the JCAC (joint control and analysis centre) set up at the IGI Airport in New Delhi to other cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Guwahati. "It's being taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS),'' said a source.
JCAC's role is to classify suspect aircraft as "rogue'' and initiate appropriate action as per the standard operating procedures in the anti-hijack policy.
Officials claim the drill to immobilise a hijacked plane, once it is forced to land by IAF fighters, has been practised at different airports to ensure it is not able to take off again.
This has become crucial since there was abject failure to keep the plane grounded at Amritsar during the IC-814 hijack in December 1999. "It should not happen again. Personnel have been told that they do not need to seek clearance from higher authorities to immobilise such a plane,'' said an official.
"Measures like positioning of obstacles like tankers in front of the plane, deflating tyres, spreading nails around the tyres or switching off runway lights during night, can be taken,'' he added.
The anti-hijack policy, incidentally, rules out negotiations with hijackers on their demands and makes it clear that talks would only be aimed at preventing loss of life or ending the incident.
"Negotiations will only be tactical in nature. Demands of the hijackers will not be considered if it has an impact on national security. If negotiations do not work, armed intervention by NSG commandos will take place,'' said an official.