Vayu Shakti 2019: Air Force demonstrates mega firepower at Pokhran

Exercise Vayu Shakti is conducted once every three years

On Saturday, two days after the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorist group orchestrated a deadly suicide car bombing in Kashmir that killed some 40 troopers from the Central Reserve Policy Force (CRPF), 137 aircraft from the Indian Air Force (IAF) struck ground targets 200 kilometres due south of Bahawalpur, the headquarters of the JeM.

This was not retaliation. The targets struck were well inside India, in the Pokhran Field Firing Range. This was a pre-planned exercise called Vayu Shakti, which the IAF carries out once every three years, to demonstrate it is equipped, rehearsed and ready for action. It has been