In your Letters to Editor column July edition Major (Retd) Mumtaz A Malik has stated that he had come across some publication which states that Russian AWACS were assisting India in its war against Pakistan during 1971 war.

These kind of reports are really very much of doubtful veracity for variety of reasons one during early 70s AWACS concept was very much in infancy.there were very few operational AWACS system in the world that too mostly with USA and even few (if at all) any AWACS System with erstwhile USSR and to assume that USSR would lend its few existing (if atall it possesed such systems during that time) to india during height of cold war is very much doubtful.

Moreover, apart from Major (Retd) Mumtaz A Malik reference to some publication I have nowhere come across any source which would substantiate this fact.


Tom Eddison