Air force stations under the Eastern Air Command continue to be on heightened alert, with the perimeters of the installations kept out of the general public’s reach, sources in the air command said.
Most senior officers were unwilling to share the degree of alertness at the air force stations.
One of them said the flying squadrons had been asked to remain war-ready as always, and visitors to the air force stations were under greater scrutiny.
“Boards banning photography, use of drones and parking of vehicles around the perimeter wall of the air force station have been placed outside the air force station in Hasimara,” said a senior police officer of the Alipurduar district.
“No one is even allowed to stop by the installation without a reason. The air force station authorities held several meetings with us and the forest department officials in the past few days. Sniffer dogs have been brought in and naka points have been set up on the highway skirting the air force station,” the officer said.
Strategically located near the India-Bhutan border, the air force station in Hasimara is the closest air base to Chumbi Valley, in the tri-junction of Sikkim, Bhutan and Tibet.
The second squadron of Rafale fighter jets was inducted into the 101 squadron in Hasimara in 2021.
On Monday, India’s director general of air operations (DGAO), Air Marshal Awadhesh Kumar Bharti, said all military bases continued to be fully operational.
“All our military bases, all our systems, continue to remain fully operational and ready to undertake any future missions,” Air Marshal Kumar said in the capital.
Sources said the commanding officers of the air force stations under the Eastern Air Command, including the one in Kalaikunda, West Midnapore, have met their civil counterparts to discuss ways to further strengthen surveillance to secure the military assets, including sensors, radars and air defence systems.
On May 7, a young man was arrested for trying to sneak into the Hasimara air force station after climbing a tree. Checks have been intensified since then, and police personnel have been provided with metal detectors to run intensive scanning.
The Eastern Air Command’s area of responsibility covers the seven states in the Northeast, Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar and parts of Odisha and Jharkhand, and spans nearly 300,000 square kilometres.
“The vigil on unmanned aerial systems (UAS) over all air force stations has been upped to guard vital assets, including the new weapon systems that are a part of the integrated air command and control systems (IACCS) under the Indian air force,” a senior air force officer said.
“Regular drills for fighter jet pilots, including sorties, in the air force stations under the command have not stopped,” the officer said. He did not elaborate on the state of preparedness in more detail.
The Kalaikunda air force station, sources said, remains a vital training hub for fighter pilots under the Eastern Air Command and has hosted several joint military training exercises with other air forces, including the last one with Singapore in 2024.