NEW DELHI: IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari has inaugurated the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Weapon Systems School (WSS) at Begumpet in Hyderabad, with the new training facility offering four specialised streams to cadets to prepare them to handle surface-to-air weapons, remotely piloted aircraft, surface-to-surface weapon systems and space-based intelligence.
Chaudhari announced the creation of a weapon systems branch for officers, IAF’s first operational branch since independence, in October 2022.
“The new branch will have four streams — flying stream to operate the weapons and systems in airborne platforms like the Sukhoi-30 MKI and C-130J, remote stream to operate remotely piloted aircraft, mission commanders and operators for surface-to-air and surface-to-surface weapon systems, and the intelligence stream for handling space-based intelligence and imagery,” IAF said in a statement on Tuesday.
Chaudhari said the creation of the weapon systems branch will bring operators of ground-based and specialist weapon systems under one umbrella, enhancing the war-fighting capabilities of IAF. Addressing the instructors at the school, he said they were pioneers in the newly formed branch, and the pillar on which the entire edifice of the envisioned training regime would stand.
The new branch will result in a saving of more than ₹3,400 crore due to reduced expenditure on flying training, Chaudhari had earlier said.
A new chapter has been introduced in the history of IAF with the inauguration of WSS, the statement said. “Aimed at recalibrating and transforming IAF as a future-oriented force, the formation of this new training establishment is a gigantic leap for the armed forces in general, and IAF in particular,” Tuesday’s statement said.
After their initial training at the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, and Air Force Academy (AFA), Hyderabad, flight cadets opting for the weapons system branch will train at the school for six months before being commissioned as officers in IAF. Those joining AFA directly will train at the academy for six months before moving to the new school for another six months of specialised training.
The first batch of flight cadets at the new academy, headed Air Vice Marshal Premkumar Krishnaswamy, will graduate in December 2024.
WSS will impart contemporary training and prepare officers of the newly formed branch in line with the requirements of IAF, the statement said.
The creation of a weapon systems branch was necessary, Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), former additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies, said when the new branch was announced.
“Weapon systems have become very sophisticated, requiring personnel with deep specialist knowledge to operate them. Ever since the Sukhoi-30s with the rear Weapon Systems Operator position and UAVs entered IAF inventory, the demand for a specialist branch was felt,” he said.
