basic doctrine of the indian air force throne paved the way for the Indo-Nepalese treaty of friendship. The swift air landed operation undertaken by the IAF during Operation Cactus in 1989 to airdrop Indian forces at Male was crucial in the foiling of a coup attempt and the subsequent restoration of the Maldives government. In keeping with its mandate of enabling national development, the IAF also plays a significant role in aid to civil population during disasters, crisis etc. Notwithstanding the size of the country and the varied terrain, it deploys swiftly and frequently across the country for disaster mitigation and control. The IAF is frequently deployed for supply drops as also aerial evacuation during natural disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, landslides, floods etc both within the country and even beyond. For instance, during the 2004 Tsunami, the IAF undertook airlift and relief operations in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands as also in the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Its transcontinental reach was apparent when during Hurricane Katrina the IAF rapidly responded and delivered aid and supplies to St Louis, Mississippi, USA. The IAF has conducted numerous such operations as for instance: evacuating thousands of people during snowstorms in Jammu and Kashmir in 2005; airlifting of more than 100,000 Indian citizens from Iraq and Kuwait during Gulf War I in conjunction with Air India and Indian Airlines which are the other elements of Indian air power. The IAF also serves the ends of democracy by periodically transporting paramilitary and civilian personnel for election duties. The role of the IAF in defending the skies on a daily basis is carried out by fully armed aircraft on live Operational Readiness Platforms (ORP) or Combat Air Patrol (CAP). These are capable of launching within minutes to signal the resolve of the government of India for deterring any aerial misadventure. All the above examples demonstrate that air power enables force projection, both benign and otherwise, to support national security objectives in more ways than one. 8