the air campaigns SU-30 MKI firing an air to air missile Escorts. This role involves the assigning of fighter aircraft to protect friendly strike aircraft during a mission. Their purpose is to act as counter threat to the enemy air defence fighters, and by doing so, enable friendly missions to proceed unhindered to their targets and back. Fighter escorts are usually provided to strike aircraft, ECM aircraft and photo recce aircraft. They could also be provided to transport aircraft involved in combat enabling or support missions. Helicopter and Transport Aircraft. In a counter air campaign, the forward tier of enemy radars could be neutralised by armed and attack helicopters, which can play a significant role in realising campaign objectives. Utility helicopters escorted by armed helicopters can also insert special forces in the vicinity of forward tier enemy radars with an aim of neutralising the radars by direct action. Transport aircraft like C-130 could also be utilised for inserting special forces and capturing enemy airfields. FORCE PACKAGING OCA missions are likely to include a package of attack aircraft supported by other combat support elements such as AAR and EW, SEAD and AD aircraft. The coordination of such packages is demanding and requires training and practice in peacetime. Operational effectiveness should be achieved by saturating defences through spatial and temporal compression of the attacks carried out. AIR DEFENCE OPERATIONS Air defence (AD) involves the employment of a combination of passive and active measures to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of an enemy aerial attack or a hostile ballistic/cruise missile attack. Air defence, by itself, cannot achieve a lasting favourable air situation, since it is reactive. A military strategy which is based solely on AD operations concedes the timing, scope and tempo of air operations to the enemy and entails considerable military risk. AD operations have little scope 47