Windjammer
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The Indian Air Force (IAF) has landed in a difficult spot after it disclosed locations and precise coordinates of sensitive forward posts of the Army along the Pakistan and China border in an open commercial tender posted on government websites.
The precise location of more than 80 forward landing posts, along with details of altitude and dimensions of helipads were given away in an open tender for hiring of private helicopters to carry supplies to forward locations along the border which was first reported by The Indian Express.
The disclosure is being seen as a violation of service rules, given that the information is officially classified as restricted by the Defence Ministry. The disclosure also has security implications given that the the geographic coordinates have given away the precise location of a bulk of the Armys forward locations and camps along the two borders.
The helipads include Chuna, Taksing, Topukhar and Manigong along the Sino-Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh and Pharkian Gali, Kanzalwan, Niru, Z Gali and Baraub along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said while information regarding the location of forward bases can also be gathered with the use of satellite imagery, the exact coordinates that have been disclosed officially confirm their positions, making them easy targets. This kind of information is not meant for public circulation. Even within the military, this information is classified as restricted, a defence official said.
The details were posted in a 33-page tender for hiring helicopters from the private and public sectors to meet operational needs in border areas due to acute shortages and the low serviceability of its existing transport fleet.
It is learnt that the move to hire private choppers to ferry cargo and personnel to forward posts had been cleared by the Army and Defence Ministry but details disclosed that include the precise loads to be carried to each location have come as a shock. A similar tender to hire choppers issued earlier this year did not get adequate response, prompting the disclosure of locations to attract private and public firms.
IAF discloses locations of border posts - Indian Express
The precise location of more than 80 forward landing posts, along with details of altitude and dimensions of helipads were given away in an open tender for hiring of private helicopters to carry supplies to forward locations along the border which was first reported by The Indian Express.
The disclosure is being seen as a violation of service rules, given that the information is officially classified as restricted by the Defence Ministry. The disclosure also has security implications given that the the geographic coordinates have given away the precise location of a bulk of the Armys forward locations and camps along the two borders.
The helipads include Chuna, Taksing, Topukhar and Manigong along the Sino-Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh and Pharkian Gali, Kanzalwan, Niru, Z Gali and Baraub along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said while information regarding the location of forward bases can also be gathered with the use of satellite imagery, the exact coordinates that have been disclosed officially confirm their positions, making them easy targets. This kind of information is not meant for public circulation. Even within the military, this information is classified as restricted, a defence official said.
The details were posted in a 33-page tender for hiring helicopters from the private and public sectors to meet operational needs in border areas due to acute shortages and the low serviceability of its existing transport fleet.
It is learnt that the move to hire private choppers to ferry cargo and personnel to forward posts had been cleared by the Army and Defence Ministry but details disclosed that include the precise loads to be carried to each location have come as a shock. A similar tender to hire choppers issued earlier this year did not get adequate response, prompting the disclosure of locations to attract private and public firms.
IAF discloses locations of border posts - Indian Express
