[Brutton]

Stating that the air defence in the Southern peninsula is well-equipped to meet any contingency considering the strategical importance of the area, the Southern Air Command's outgoing chief Air Marshal S P Singh said that one Sukhoi Su-30 MKI squadron is scheduled to be based at Souther Air Command base Sulur by 2015.

Over the years, the preparedness in the area had been strengthened in terms of air space, deployment of aircraft and equipment for surveillance to protect major installations of the area, including Kudamkulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, he said in reply to queries. SAC also played a prominent role in marine surveillance although it was primarily the responsibility of Navy and Coast Guard.

Air Marshal Rjesh Kumar Jolly, whi si taking over the command is a commissioned in the fighter stream of IAF in 1975. He has flown various aircraft, including all variants of MiG-21 and has over 3,800 hours of flying to his credit. A recipient of Vayusena and Vishit Seval medals, he has served in different capacities, including the Air Attache in Indian Embassy in Washington and Senior Air Staff Officer at Southwestern Air Command and Southern Air Command.