Chinese fighter jets conduct exercise opposite Eastern Ladakh
New Delhi, June 08 (KMS): Amid the continued military standoff between Indian and China for over a year, the Chinese Air Force recently carried out a big aerial exercise from its airbases opposite Eastern Ladakh.
Indian media quoting Defence sources reported that around 21-22 of Chinese fighter aircraft mainly including the J-11s which are the Chinese copy of the Su-27 fighters and a few J-16 fighters held an exercise opposite Eastern Ladakh. The exercise, which was held recently, was watched closely by the Indian side, they said.
The Chinese fighter aircraft activities took place from its bases including the Hotan, Gar Gunsa and Kashgar airfields. These airfields were upgraded recently to enable operations by all types of fighters along with concrete structures to hide away the presence of the number of fighters present at different airbases, the sources said.
The Indian fighter aircraft activity in the Ladakh area has gone up significantly since last year.
“After the summer deployments of the Chinese troops and Air Force this year, the Indian Air Force has also been regularly deploying detachments of its fighters including the MiG-29s in Ladakh,” Indian defense sources said.
The sources said even though the Chinese have withdrawn troops from the Pangong lake area, they have not moved their air defence systems including the HQ-9 and HQ-16 which can target aircraft at long ranges.
