The Indian Air Force on Saturday carried out air operations at a forward base near India-China border. Visuals on ANI showed Su-30MKI fighter aircraft and Apache attack helicopter moving in and out of the airbase near the border with China.
Apaches are prominent as they carry out regular sorties with their only mandate of a combat role in the Eastern Ladakh sector. The American-origin attack chopper along with its heavy-lift counterpart Chinook have played an important role in the area after the Chinese Army started building up along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh in May this year.
According to ANI, Chinook helicopters could be loaded with important equipment for being delivered to forward bases as China has also dug in heels all along the LAC in this area.
The Indian and Chinese armies are locked in a bitter stand-off in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh for the last seven weeks. The tension escalated manifold after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash in Galwan Valley on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details.