Valuable Asset

R.C. Sharma

The Border Security Force’s (BSF) air wing was established on 1 May 1969 with the induction of Queen Air C-80 aircraft. At that time, it was exclusively under the command of director general, BSF. After the India-Pakistan war of 1971, the air wing was strengthened with the induction of five Dakota DC-3 aircraft.

However, in 1974, there was a realisation that the air assets needed to be controlled centrally so that they could be utilised by other Central Police Organisations (CPO). Hence, command and control of the air wing was transferred to ministry of home affairs (MHA) for operational and administrative purpose. Over the years, such platforms such as Avro, Super King and Cheetah helicopter were inducted and Dakota was phased out. The BSF air wing is now the exclusive domain of MHA with the service being mere asset holder, responsible to operate it as per the directions of the ministry. The BSF has no operational and administrative freedom in operation of the air wing.

Role and Task

The BSF air wing’s operational role is administrative and peacetime centric. It includes movement of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel to remote field areas for operational deployment; transportation of operational stores and administrative essentials, such as arms, ammunition, winter clothing, medicines, communication equipment, food and other logistic stores; providing air facilities to VIPs/ VVIPs, officials of MHA and other central/state ministers, foreign delegations, medical teams during natural disasters; aerial survey of areas devastated by natural disasters; evacuation of casualties; transportation of criminals and terrorists as per the instructions of MHA; airlift advance security liaison teams whenever needed; airlift enquiry commissions, investigative teams and fact-finding bodies; border surveillance and maintenance of border outposts; and any other role given by the MHA.

Of the roles listed above, operational tasks are a low priority for the MHA and the air wing is hardly ever utilised for border surveillance. The utility of aircraft is more for tasks which are not related with border surveillance. Be that as it may, the practicality of using them for border surveillance during peacetime does need a detailed analysis.

The BSF air wing has bases at different locations across the country based on such considerations as terrain, isolation of border outposts (which then will have to be air maintained), weather conditions, probability of natural calamities, internal security and insurgency environment. Consequently, these bases are located at Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Guwahati (Assam), Agartala (Tripura), Ranchi (Jharkhand) and Srinagar (J&K). Fixed wing aircraft such as Avro and Embraer are based in Delhi.

The general perception is that the BSF air wing is under-utilised in operational roles and over utilised for VIP movement. It is partly correct, but this is something beyond the control of the BSF and the tasking is decided by the ministry. In the past, Cheetah helicopters were used for movement of senior commanders to remote locations in Jammu and Kashmir. It has also been used very effectively to replenish arms and ammunition during intense trans-border firing on international border in Jammu.

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An Overview

The air platforms of the BSF are registered with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) under both civil and military norms. The current holdings include eight Mi-17 V5, six Mi-17 IV, six ALH ‘Dhruv’, one Chetak helicopter. In the fixed wing category, there is one Avro, which is almost on its way out and one Embraer jet, which until two years ago was used to fly VIPs. Now it has been transferred to military regulations.

According to a news report, ‘The Border Security Force (BSF) will soon have its own set of regulations for its