IAF boosting long-range capabilities amid Indo-Pacific security concerns

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is closely monitoring developments across the Indo-Pacific and strengthening its ability to conduct long-range operations, enhance surveillance and respond to emerging security challenges, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said on Sunday, amid growing international concerns over China's expanding military activities in the region.

In an exclusive interview with PTI, Singh said India's military presence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands provided a "critical springboard" for operations in the eastern Indian Ocean Region, allowing the country to extend its strategic reach.

He emphasised that India's priorities remained safeguarding national interests, sovereignty and strategic autonomy while supporting a rules-based, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.

"From the IAF's perspective, this demands a specific set of capabilities. We need reach, persistent surveillance, air mobility, air-domain awareness, networked command and control, and the ability to operate effectively over extended distances," he said.

𝗔𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗵𝘂𝗯

Highlighting the importance of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Singh said the military's positioning there strengthened India's ability to operate across the eastern Indian Ocean.

"Our strategic posture in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands provides a critical springboard for operations in the eastern Indian Ocean Region. Aerial refuelling and airborne early warning give us the reach and awareness to operate far from our shores," he said.

The Air Chief described the Indo-Pacific as increasingly important to global security, with growing military activity and strategic competition creating fresh challenges.

"The Indo-Pacific has become central to global security, and it is marked by growing military activity, strategic competition and contestation," he said.

"Recent developments across the region, including in its maritime spaces, underline the need for vigilance, credible deterrence and greater regional cooperation," he added.

Several countries, including India, the United States, Japan, Australia and European nations, have adopted Indo-Pacific strategies aimed at maintaining regional peace and stability.

𝗜𝗔𝗙 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀

Singh said the IAF was developing capabilities to identify emerging challenges early and operate effectively across multiple domains.

"As for preparedness, we closely monitor developments across the Indo-Pacific. Our approach is not threat-specific. We are building an IAF that can detect emerging challenges early, operate across multiple domains, and generate the required effects wherever India's national interests demand," he said.

The Air Chief asserted that the force was "ready, and will remain ready" to safeguard India's security.

He said the IAF was also strengthening interoperability with friendly air forces through increasingly complex exercises and operational engagements.

Recent deployments to Australia, Malaysia and Thailand had provided valuable experience in extended-range operations, area familiarisation, large-force employment and maritime air operations, he added.

𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀

India has been working closely with its Quad partners, the United States, Australia and Japan, to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

The grouping launched the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness initiative in 2022 to improve monitoring of maritime activities across the region.

Singh highlighted the importance of military cooperation in strengthening both operational capabilities and mutual trust.

"In February 2026, for instance, IAF Su-30MKI fighters operating from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands conducted an in-situ exercise with the Royal Thai Air Force over the Indian Ocean," he said.

The exercise was supported by IL-78 aerial refuelling tankers and airborne warning and control aircraft.

"Engagements of this kind build both capability and trust, and that trust is itself an enduring contributor to regional stability," Singh said.

𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀

The Air Chief said future operations across the Indo-Pacific's vast maritime spaces would require investments in advanced surveillance and networked warfare capabilities.

He identified intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, space-enabled technologies, electronic warfare, precision weapons, unmanned platforms and resilient communication networks as critical areas.

"Alongside these partnerships, the capabilities I have already spoken of, from ISR and space-enabled systems to electronic warfare, precision weapons, unmanned systems and resilient networks, will matter just as much over the vast maritime spaces of the region," he said.

Singh maintained that strengthening these capabilities, alongside international military cooperation, would remain essential to protecting India's strategic interests and ensuring operational readiness across the Indo-Pacific.