IAF Readies 11 Transport Aircraft And 25 Helicopters As Cyclone Yaas Brews In Bay Of Bengal

Gearing up for the incoming Cyclone Yaas, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has kept 11 of its transport aircraft and 25 helicopters ready to carry out humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations, reports Times of India.

These aircraft include three C-130s, four An-32 aircraft and two Dornier aircraft. Meanwhile, the helicopters readied include 11 Mi-17 V5s, two Chetaks, three Cheetahs and seven Mi-17 helicopters.

Preparing to deal with the situations arising out of the Cyclone Yaas, IAF also airlifted 21 tonnes of relief materials and 334 National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) personnel to Kolkata and Port Blair from Patna, Varanasi and Arakkonam yesterday (23 May). The airlift operation was completed using five of IAF’s C-130 aircraft.

So far, since 21 May, IAF has airlifted a total of 606 personnel and 57 tonnes of load preparing for Cyclone Yaas.

Meanwhile, it should also be noted that parallelly, the Indian Navy has also put four warships and several aircraft on standby as part of its preparations for the cyclone.