Weapon system branch, women Agniveers from next year: IAF chief's announcements on Air Force Day

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari on Saturday announced that the government has approved the creation of a weapon system branch for IAF officers. This is the first time since Independence that a new operational branch is created, the IAF chief announced on the occasion of Air Force Day. This will essentially handle all types of latest weapon systems in the force and save ₹3,400 crore, the IAF chief said. He also announced that the IAF is planning to induct female Agniveers next year.

Induction of air warriors into the Indian Air Force through the Agnipath scheme is a challenge but more importantly, it is an opportunity to "harness the potential of India".

"We have changed our operational training methodology to ensure that each Agniveer is equipped with the right skills and knowledge to start a career in IAF. In December this year, we would be inducting 3,000 Agniveer Vayu for initial training. This number will go up in the years to come to ensure adequate staffing," the IAF chief said.

"We are also planning on induction of women Agniveers starting next year. Creation of infrastructure is in progress," the IAF chief said.

The last one year the IAF had its share of challenges and the force has taken all head-on with all guns blazing, be it the continued deployment along the borders or rescuing Indians from conflict zones, the IAF chief said congratulating the force.

As the IAF chief enumerated the challenges lying ahead, he said the traditional domains of land, sea and air have expanded to space and cyber and converged into a hybrid warfare. Hence conventional system and weapons need to be updated with modern, adaptive technology. "We must accept that tomorrow's conflicts can't be fought with yesterday's mindset," he said.