Plane truth over Mumbai skyline

MUMBAI, AUG 20: The routine hum and drone around Mumbai's domestic airport at Santacruz has acquired a new tone: Since the last ten days,...

MUMBAI, AUG 20: The routine hum and drone around Mumbai8217;s domestic airport at Santacruz has acquired a new tone: Since the last ten days, residents living in the vicinity of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Domestic Airport at Santacruz East have been hearing new sounds, of Indian Air Force jets 8211; mostly MiG 21s 8211; conducting aerial sorties.

The sound of the jets taking off is very loud compared to regular civilian and jumbo aircrafts, and today alone, eight aircrafts streaked the city8217;s skyscape. The exercises come close on the heels of the recent downing of the Pakistani aircraft Atlantique near the Gujarat coast on August 10. The air force also has its own hangar adjacent to the airport where a couple of IAF jets are usually stationed. However, airport sources were tight-lipped when questioned about the number of take-offs and landings of these supersonic jets 8211; sometimes up to to eight landings within gaps of fifteen minutes 8211; at least twice a day. Airports Authority of India national, general manageraerodrome R L Chopra when contacted declined to comment. 8220;Officially, nobody except executive director Vikram Kalra is authorised to speak to the press,8221; he said, adding that Kalra was away in Delhi.

Mumbai has reportedly been chosen to avoid radar detection. It has been designated as a city with amongst the largest numbers of Vital Areas VA and Vital Points VPs. Defence officials termed the forward deployment of the MiG-21 fighters as a routine to familiarise their pilots with the city8217;s landmarks when flying around to defend the city.

8220;Our pilot should be able to pick up an enemy fighter flying in low for an attack over the city, against the backdrop of buildings. He shouldn8217;t be as confused as the enemy pilot is,8221; a defence official told Express Newsline.

The MiGs are normally deployed at the IAF8217;s Lohegaon airbase in Pune. 8220;Deploying them in Mumbai during a war saves the crucial five minutes of flying time to the city,8221; he pointed out.

Several senior airport officials have alsoreportedly been roped in to assist in clearing the runway for the exercises. However, there has been no disruption in the operation of the domestic and international civilian flights, all of which operate on a single runway.

At Wadia Estate at Kurla East, where one and two-storeyed buildings rub shoulders with ground-level slums, thrilled children dashed to their terraces to grab a view of the jets. Said 10-year-old Chetan, 8220;We have seen fighter aircrafts only on television. Seeing them in reality is very thrilling. Several aircrafts take off in the mornings and evenings with a very loud sound.8221; Added his seven-year-old friend Mitesh, 8220;The sound is so loud that my ears can feel the tremors. They are very, very fast.8221;