On Friday Morning, India wrapped up 'Operation Kaveri' to bring back all the Indians from the war-torn country Sudan, when the last IAF C-130J Aircraft landed on Indian Soil with 47 passengers.
The Indian Government along with the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy Culminated Operation Kaveri which was launched to bring back stranded Indians from the country of Sudan which is facing an almost civil war due to groups fighting for power in the country.
Operation Kaveri will go down into the annals of history of the force and will be remembered for times to come. It envisaged endless sorties of transport aircrafts of the IAF, flying round the clock and against time. In a recent rescue mission, a C-17 heavy-lifter of the IAF airlifted 192 people, with the full mission lasting almost 24 hours with a refuelling stop at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. On the night of April 27, 28, 2023, the IAF C-130J aircraft rescued 121 personnel from a small airstrip at Wadi Seidna, which is about 40 km North of Khartoum, Sudan, the IAF said in a statement. Despite the airstrip in Sudan's Wadi Seidna having no navigational approach, aids or fuel, and landing lights (that are required to guide an aircraft landing at night), the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Garud Commandos carried out a daring, overnight operation to air-lift stranded Indians. Knowing that the airstrip had no facilities to facilitate the rescue mission, the aircrew used their Electro-Optical/Infra-Red sensors to ensure that the runway was free from any obstructions and that no inimical forces were in the vicinity. Among the passengers was a pregnant woman, besides those who had no means to reach Port Sudan, the IAF said in a statement. The convoy was led by the Indian Defence Attache, who was in continuous touch with IAF authorities all along, till they reached the airstrip at Wadi Seidna.
Sudan is experiencing bloodshed due to clashes between the army and paramilitary forces. Even though there is a 72-hour ceasefire, there have been allegations of violence.
Committed to ensuring that no Indian national is left behind in Sudan, India has deployed its military planes and warships in the war-torn country.
The embassy staff had already been evacuated prior and hence there was no source to achieve reliable ground intelligence on the situation in Kabul or the areas around the Kabul airport. Group Captain Ravi Nanda, the Commanding Officer of a C-130J Transport Squadron, led the mission to fly into the epicenter of the conflict zone of Kabul to insert a ‘Specialised Team’ for facilitating the swift evacuation of Indian diaspora under imminent threat to their lives.
This high-risk midnight mission faced the utmost dangers of absolutely uncontrolled airspace, dense traffic of unknown aerial platforms, extremely limited visual inputs in the middle of unforgiving mountainous terrain, and above all, a hostile ground situation with small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and shoulder-launched missiles.
Amidst a chaotic ground situation, ongoing sporadic gunfire in the vicinity of the airport, and possible threat to life and equipment, the C130J and its crew led by Nanda effectively used Night Vision Goggles (NVG) to land safely at Kabul.
India bought the C-130J primarily for specialist military operations in dangerous terrains under hostile conditions, essentially for operating against Pakistan and China respectively. The C-130J Super Hercules is the most advanced production model of the legendary C-130 Hercules mid-sized tactical airlifter. True to its name Hercules, the mythological superhero, the aircraft is known for its ability to support many tasks and missions in the most challenging conditions.
Indian fleet, is now being looked upon as one of the most famous and well-known Super Hercules fleets around the world for performing daring military operations from challenging terrains.