Inaugurating the third biennial International Flight Safety Conference Oct 9-10 here, he said that “safe operations are intrinsic to mission accomplishment and cannot be treated separately.”

“In the past, the ‘Mission’ was considered paramount in military aviation and all efforts were focused towards achievement of the mission. But remember, that a mission cannot be accomplished unless the force is able to reach, do the required job and come back.”

Defence Minister A K Antony, delivering the valedictory address, said that while the government would continue to encourage the modernization of the Indian armed forces, the IAF needed to adopt multi-faceted techniques to enhance flight safety, maintenance safety, risk management and technological evolution.

Pointing out that the simultaneous growth of the civil aviation sector in the country with several new lowcost operators taking to the skies posed new challenges to airspace management, infrastructure of airports, and ground radars, he said that in fact it had also added a new dimension to aviation safety.

There was a need now for a unified civil-military approach, Mr Antony said.

The minister also pointed out that today, the geo-political-economic and security issues had become intricately connected with one another.

As the capabilities and reach of airpower increases, there is a greater realisation of the importance, utility and applicability of aerospace power in any emergency-like situation °whether in peace, or in war.

Thus, for various reasons, aerospace power has become a necessity.

The Defence Minister pointed out that aviation safety is often treated as a management function and tends to concentrate more on humans than on machines. He said as technology drives advances in military science in general, and the aviation industry in particular, the safety imperative must not be lost sight of.

Mr Antony said that with the advancement in technology, aircraft are becoming increasingly expensive. Societies and nations are also now acutely concerned about the safety of human life.

The new millennium has already seen the development of several new techniques for the management of Flight Safety in various spheres of aviation. On its part, the Indian Air Force has consolidated its experience of operating a wide range of aircrafts of varied technological vintage. The strategy in Flight Safety has evolved from a reactive to a proactive one, he observed.

Air Chief Marshal Naik said that those responsible for operations “must concentrate on amalgamating all aspects of the conduct of safe operations as a whole and not as individual elements. Only then can we truly carry out safe military operations. This should be our overall Flight Safety Strategy.”

The Air Force chief said in the technologically-advanced age and with resources becoming scarce and expensive, the required hands-on experience seemed to be reducing in all spheres, be it for a pilot or a technician.

“We need to address this deficit. Simulators, training, sharing the cumulative experiences and communication are some of the ways that come to my mind. As an organisation, we need to address this issue in all seriousness,” he said.

Air Chief Marshal Naik pointed out that military aviation was an inherently risky business, since air forces operated at the limits of the human being, machine and the environment.

Accordingly, accident probes became extremely important, as speedy communication of the findings could help in averting future mishaps elsewhere. “This would ensure that there is minimal loss of any kind, human or material through accidents or incidents.”

Pictures: DPR, Ministry of Defence