Army wants land for Dooars airstrip

Kolkata: Negotiations are on with the state government for acquisition of land to set up an airstrip in North Bengal, which the army needs close to the Sino-Indian border, Eastern Command Major General General Staff (MGGS) Munish Sibal said at a news conference in Kolkata on Wednesday. "Talks are in progress with the government," he said.
The army needed the airstrip somewhere in the Dooars to launch unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance of the international border. While some land was already available with the army at the spot, some more would have to be acquired, Sibal said. In the absence of a suitable launching pad, the UAVs were currently being launched from airports that were also used for civilian purposes, but this was facing difficulties.
A lot of defence land is available in North Bengal. There is one view in the army that the airstrip can be set up on any of these, without further acquisition. But Sibal said these were not suitable for setting up an airstrip that would meet the requirement. "We need an airstrip close to the international border. The further away the border is from the launching pad, the lesser payload the UAV will be able to carry. It may not even be able to reach the border," he said.
The use of UAVs has been going up for surveillance, to carry out the task without risking casualties. UAVs have become a handy tool in keeping a watch on incidents of transgression along the border in Sikkim by Chinese troops. Sibal said UAVs were also being used in Manipur to monitor the activities of militant groups.
11/12/08 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Dec 2008