An IAF chopper during the operations

New Delhi: The Operational Commands of the Indian Air Force (IAF) planned and executed Inter-Valley Troop Transfer (IVTT) in coordination with affiliated Indian Army Commands. IVTT, a major joint operation, was conducted in the high hills of Northern and North-Eastern Sector. The maneuvers, which were carried out as a part of a massive ongoing exercise Gaganshakti, assume the importance of an ongoing border dispute with China. "The aim of the exercise was to validate the capability of the IAF and the Indian Army to quickly transfer and redeploy acclimatized troops, in the simulated objective area," the IAF said in a statement. These operations are conducted to reposition troops from one valley to another, to counter any evolving threat and to surprise or offensively exploit the weakness of the adversary.

"In the mountainous terrain, the movement of the troops from one valley to another is a challenging task. The redeployment of forces from one area of interest to another may at times take a couple of days. IVTT operations help to reposition the desired forces within a couple of hours. All the three commands of IAF conducted a company level exercise in their area of operations, in a time-sensitive environment," the IAF said adding, "This tactical transfer of troops not only validated Joint Operations between the IAF & the Indian Army, but also showcased the capability of the IAF to operationalise forward ALG’s by setting up communications and refueling facilities, and preparing aircraft operating surface."

All the major platforms of the IAf such as the C-130J and AN-32 tactical transport aircraft and Mi-17 V5 / ALH helicopters were used for these missions.