IAF’s ‘Trishul’ Combat Training Takes Flight Ahead Of G20 Summit Amid Rising China-Pakistan Tensions

The Indian Air Force (IAF) started a big training operation called “Trishul” in the north and west along the border between China and Pakistan. The Western Air Command (WAC) is in charge of the exercise, which takes place over a large area from Ladakh to Rajasthan and includes fighter jets like Rafales, Jaguars, MiG-29s, and Sukhoi-30MKIs, transport planes like C-130Js and C-17s, and surface-to-air guided weapons like S-400s, MR-SAMS, and Akash.

This ten-day drill comes at a very important time, as India is getting ready to host the G20 meeting. This will happen at the same time that the armed standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh, which has been going on for four years, will continue. The main goal of ‘Trishul’ is to figure out how ready WAC is for battle as a whole.

In a TOI report, a military source said, “All combat assets have been deployed for the annual exercise. These include fighters like Rafales, Jaguars, MiG-29s, and Sukhoi-30MKIs, transport aircraft like C-130Js and C-17s, and surface-to-air guided weapons like S-400s, MR-SAMS, and Akash.”

During the G20 summit in New Delhi on September 9th and 10th, however, the high-intensity air drill would be put on hold. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has already set up a large number of planes, radars, and Surface-to-Air Guided Weapons (SAGWs) to keep the skies over the Delhi-National Capital Region safe during the conclave.

At the same time, troops from the Army’s two China-specific mountain attack corps, 1 Corps and 17 Corps, are training in their own operational zones. Each corps has about 70,000 soldiers and a lot of high-altitude warfare equipment. All along the 3,488-kilometer Line of Actual Control (LAC), these groups are always present and do exercises every summer.

The center of 1 Corps, which is based in Mathura, has moved from the western front with Pakistan to the northern part of the LAC. On the other hand, 17 Corps, which is based in Panagarh, focuses on being a strike force in the Chumbi Valley and the area east of Sikkim.

Even though time has passed, there are no signs that the conflict in eastern Ladakh is getting better. China has not decided to pull back its troops from places like Depsang Bulge and the Charding Ninglung Nallah track junction near Demchok, which are important from a military point of view. Since May 2020, both sides have sent in more than 50,000 troops and heavy weapons like tanks, artillery guns, and small arms and light weapons (SAGWs). This has made the situation in the area even worse.