For specialised operations, the Indian Air Force’s Garud Special Forces have been stationed in high altitude locations along the China border. The Garuds, who are renowned for their superior fighting skills and multitasking prowess, have been stationed along the Line of Actual Control since May 2020.
Along with the AK-103, whose most recent iteration, the AK-203, will be manufactured in the nation as part of the Make in India programme, the IAF has also given the Garud commandos the newest weapons available, including American Sig Sauer assault rifles.
According to Special Forces officials, the Garud Special Forces are stationed in the frontline regions along the China border from eastern Ladakh to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, where they would conduct specialised operations should the need arise.
Since 2020, when the Indian Air Force aggressively deployed itself to confront Chinese aggression in the area, these troops have been stationed on the LAC.
India Today observed the latest weaponry and equipment being given by the Air Force to its Garud commandos while touring the Garud Regimental Training Center. ‘Latest weaponry include Sig Sauer, AK-series assault rifles, together with the Israeli Tavor rifles and their various variations’ The officials said.
The forces also have Galil sniper rifles and Negev light machine guns, which can kill opposing soldiers at a distance of 800-1,000 metres.
In the infamous Rakht Hajin operations in Jammu and Kashmir, where the Garud squad killed five terrorists and Corporal Jyoti Prakash Nirala received the Ashok Chakra posthumously, the Garuds employed the Negev LMG. In order to get a true sense of operations, the late Gen. Bipin Rawat deployed the Garuds in the Kashmir valley alongside the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles troops.
Post Your Comments