Fighter planes poised for immediate take-off will annihilate enemy vessels in Indian waters, says coast guard in a do-or-die promise
Fighter planes poised for immediate take-off will annihilate enemy vessels in Indian waters, says coast guard in a do-or-die promise
For the first time, since its inception 25 years ago, the Indian Coast Guard will launch aerial attacks to destroy enemy vessels in Indian waters.
In a historic move, debated and decided at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, the Coast Guard will now employ Dornier aircraft fitted with 12.7 mm guns and ships fitted with 30 mm field guns and anti-aircraft guns to shoot down enemy ships or smaller vessels harbouring terrorists.
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Taking no chances: A Coast Guard helicopter patrols Mumbai skies. It will now employ Dornier aircraft fitted with 12.7 mm guns and ships fitted with 30 mm field guns and anti-aircraft guns to shoot down enemy ships or smaller vessels harbouring terrorists. |
Inspector General Rajendra Singh, Coast Guard chief (west), said, "The Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) vessels will be sitting ducks. They will be annihilated before they can launch an attack on Mumbai."
He explained that Coast Guard helicopters were carrying out regular sorties off the Mumbai harbour to scout around for unfriendly ships. All ships have been asked to identify their positions after entering Indian waters.
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"Any wrong move can trigger-off the Dorniers in a shoot-to-kill operation. The enemy ship will be gunned down without mercy," said Singh.
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Even when the ships are docked, 50 per cent of the crew will always be on board to ensure cast off in an hour the shortest time possible.
The planes are all at the Daman airbase and can take off within minutes. The pilots have all been given accommodation near the terminal to facilitate immediate take-off.
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He added that the ban on fishing vessels venturing out into the deep seas during the rains was an advantage.
Home Minister Jayant Patil said the state government had taken all necessary precautions in view of the terror threats. "All concerned departments have been alerted,' he claimed.
Sea PatrolTHE Navy and Coast Guard have deployed more than 40 aircraft and 40 ships over the last two weeks after an intelligence alert warned of an LeT attack from the high seas, targeting key installations in Mumbai.
A squadron of 12 Dornier aircraft are positioned at Daman, about 200 km from Mumbai. Each is mounted with two 12.7 mm guns that can can penetrate armoured vessels.
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These guns are generally fitted on T55
battle tanks, but have now been modified for aerial attacks.
The coast guard has 26 ships all offshore patrol vessels (large vessels that go up to 1,000 nautical miles), patrol vessels (along the coast; 20 nautical miles) and interceptors (5 nautical miles). All are fitted with guns.
Qasab's entry
The horror of 26/11 happened in part due to an unpatrolled and unprotected sea coast. On November, 26, 2008, terrorists hijacked a fishing vessel from Gujarat to reach Mumbai.
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On reaching the shore, they used an inflatable dinghy and reac-hed the Badwar Park Jetty.
