Western Air Command, Indian Air Force
Encyclopedia
The Western Air Command is the regional command of Indian Air Force
headquartered in New Delhi
. It is the largest and most important Air Command of the IAF, comprising sixteen Air Force Bases (AFBs), and is responsible for aerial defence of North India
.
WAC's Area of Responsibility extends from Kashmir to Rajasthan
, covering the states of Jammu and Kashmir
, Himachal Pradesh
, Punjab
, Haryana
, New Delhi
and some parts of Uttar Pradesh
.
, including the flying training units. On July 22, 1949, the No. 1 Operational Group was re-designated as the Operational Command. In 1958, The rank of the Commanding Officer of Operational Command was upgraded from Air Commodore to Air Vice Marshal and later, to the rank of Air Marshal.
In the aftermath of the India-China War of 1962, the IAF began the process of demarcation of specific areas of responsibility, and splitting up of the flying Corps into various operational air commands. On June 10, 1963, Operational Command assumed its present name of Headquarters Western Air Command.
Due to its geographical location in the crucial North Indian region, surrounded by Pakistan to the west and China to the East, WAC has been involved in all major operations in India since independence, and has been the hub-centre of all operational activities during any operation.
The IAF Western Air Command is engaged in air logistics operations to supply troops deployed at Siachen Glacier
. These operations are undertaken from the Siachen Forward Air Base, using Mi-17
, HAL Dhruv
and HAL Cheetah helicopters.
The Western Air Command has been the major operational command involved in most of the war fought by India, including the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
, Sino-Indian War
in 1962, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
, Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, Operation Pawan
(1986) in Sri Lanka and Operation Safed Sagar
during the 1999 Kargil War
.
. It is headed by an Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, WAC, of the rank of Air Marshal
. Under the C-in-C come the Senior Air Staff Officer, Senior Maintenance Staff Officer and Senior Officer in Charge of Administration, who are of the ranks of Air Vice Marshal or Air Commodore
. They handle the day to day activities of the Command and act as the liaison between the various Wings.
WAC also has a forward headquarters located at Chandigarh
near the Army's Western Command. There is an Air Operations Group, formed in 1982, located at Udhampur
, Jammu and Kashmir
, which is principally tasked with the defence of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
.
No. 224 Squadron, Indian Air Force
was raised in July 1983 at Adampur
and operated with WAC until its disbandment in 2007.
Squadrons include:
No. 1 Wing IAF was formed at Jammu Air Force Station on 10 March 1948 and moved to Sringar on 25 January 1963.
The Air Force Stations/Wings under WAC control are:
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
headquartered in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. It is the largest and most important Air Command of the IAF, comprising sixteen Air Force Bases (AFBs), and is responsible for aerial defence of North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
.
WAC's Area of Responsibility extends from Kashmir to Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, covering the states of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
, Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
, Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
and some parts of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
.
History
WAC was raised in 1947 as the No. 1 Operational Group which controlled all the flying units of Indian Air ForceIndian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
, including the flying training units. On July 22, 1949, the No. 1 Operational Group was re-designated as the Operational Command. In 1958, The rank of the Commanding Officer of Operational Command was upgraded from Air Commodore to Air Vice Marshal and later, to the rank of Air Marshal.
In the aftermath of the India-China War of 1962, the IAF began the process of demarcation of specific areas of responsibility, and splitting up of the flying Corps into various operational air commands. On June 10, 1963, Operational Command assumed its present name of Headquarters Western Air Command.
Due to its geographical location in the crucial North Indian region, surrounded by Pakistan to the west and China to the East, WAC has been involved in all major operations in India since independence, and has been the hub-centre of all operational activities during any operation.
The IAF Western Air Command is engaged in air logistics operations to supply troops deployed at Siachen Glacier
Siachen Glacier
The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains at about , just east of the Line of Control between India-Pakistan. India controls all of the Siachen Glacier itself, including all tributary glaciers. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and...
. These operations are undertaken from the Siachen Forward Air Base, using Mi-17
MI-17
MI-17 can refer to:* Mil Mi-17, Soviet helicopter*M-17...
, HAL Dhruv
HAL Dhruv
The HAL Dhruv is a utility helicopter developed and manufactured by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited . Dhruv was first announced in November 1984. The ALH was designed with assistance from MBB in Germany. The Dhruv first flew in 1992; but, due to the changing demands of the Indian Army and...
and HAL Cheetah helicopters.
The Western Air Command has been the major operational command involved in most of the war fought by India, including the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
Indo-Pakistani War of 1947
The India-Pakistan War of 1947-48, sometimes known as the First Kashmir War, was fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Kashmir and Jammu from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four wars fought between the two newly independent nations...
, Sino-Indian War
Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War , also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict , was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan...
in 1962, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the first having been fought in 1947...
, Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, Operation Pawan
Operation Pawan
Operation Pawan was the codename assigned to the operation by the Indian Peace Keeping Force to take control of Jaffna from the LTTE , in late 1987 to enforce the disarmament of the LTTE as a part of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord...
(1986) in Sri Lanka and Operation Safed Sagar
Operation Safed Sagar
Operation Safed Sagar was the codename assigned to the Indian Air Force's strike to support the Ground troops during Operation Vijay that was aimed to flush out Regular and Irregular troops of the Pakistani Army from vacated Indian Positions in the Kargil sector along the Line of Control...
during the 1999 Kargil War
Kargil War
The Kargil War ,, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control...
.
Organization
Western Air Command is headquartered at Subroto Park, New DelhiNew Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. It is headed by an Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, WAC, of the rank of Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
. Under the C-in-C come the Senior Air Staff Officer, Senior Maintenance Staff Officer and Senior Officer in Charge of Administration, who are of the ranks of Air Vice Marshal or Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
. They handle the day to day activities of the Command and act as the liaison between the various Wings.
WAC also has a forward headquarters located at Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
near the Army's Western Command. There is an Air Operations Group, formed in 1982, located at Udhampur
Udhampur
Udhampur is a city and a municipal council in Udhampur District in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the second lardest city of Duggardesh region and the fourth largest city in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It serves as the district capital and the Northern Command headquarter of the...
, Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
, which is principally tasked with the defence of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
.
No. 224 Squadron, Indian Air Force
No. 224 Squadron, Indian Air Force
The No. 224 Squadron of the IAF was an Air Defence unit based out of Jamnagar AFS, before its disbandment in 2007.-The Crest:No.224 Sqn crest depicts a warrior on a chariot proceeding to war...
was raised in July 1983 at Adampur
Adampur
Adampur is a city and a municipal council in Jalandhar district in the Indian state of Punjab.-Geography:Adampur Doaba is located at . It has an average elevation of 233 metres . The nearest hill station is Dharamshala which is the headquarters of the Dalai Lama...
and operated with WAC until its disbandment in 2007.
Squadrons include:
| Squadron | Base | Equipment | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 3 Squadron IAF | Ambala | MiG-21 | No. 7 Wing |
| No. 5 Squadron IAF | Ambala | SEPECAT Jaguar SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet ground attack aircraft, originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Armée de l'Air in the close air support and nuclear strike role, and still in service with several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force... |
No. 7 Wing |
| No. 14 Squadron IAF | Ambala | SEPECAT Jaguar SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet ground attack aircraft, originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Armée de l'Air in the close air support and nuclear strike role, and still in service with several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force... IS/IT |
No. 7 Wing IAF |
| No. 17 Squadron IAF | Bhatinda (Bhisiana) | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to... |
No. 34 Wing IAF |
| No. 21 Squadron IAF | Sirsa Air Force Station | MiG-21 | No. 45 Wing IAF |
| No. 22 Squadron IAF | Halwara Air Force Station | Mikoyan MiG-27 Mikoyan MiG-27 The Mikoyan MiG-27 is a variable-geometry ground-attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan design bureau in the Soviet Union and later license-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics as the Bahadur . It is based on the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter aircraft, but optimized for... |
No. 34 Wing |
| No. 25 Squadron IAF | Chandigarh Airport Chandigarh Airport Chandigarh Airport is located in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, India. The airport is currently undergoing construction of an integrated passenger terminal, and many other facilities.-International airport:... |
Ilyushin IL-76 Ilyushin Il-76 The Ilyushin Il-76 is a multi-purpose four-engined strategic airlifter designed by Ilyushin design bureau. It was first planned as a commercial freighter in 1967. Intended as a replacement for the Antonov An-12, the Il-76 was designed for delivering heavy machinery to remote, poorly-serviced areas... MD |
No. 12 Wing |
| No. 26 Squadron IAF | Pathankot Air Force Station | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to... bis |
No. 18 Wing IAF |
| No. 47 Squadron IAF | Adampur | Mikoyan MiG-29 Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other... |
No. 8 Wing IAF |
| No. 48 Squadron IAF | Chandigarh Airport Chandigarh Airport Chandigarh Airport is located in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, India. The airport is currently undergoing construction of an integrated passenger terminal, and many other facilities.-International airport:... |
Antonov An-32 Antonov An-32 The Antonov An-32 is a twin-engined turboprop military transport aircraft.-Design and development:The An-32 is basically a re-engined An-26. The launch customer was the Indian Air Force, which ordered this aircraft partly due to good relations between then USSR leader Leonid Brezhnev and then... |
No. 12 Wing |
| No. 51 Squadron IAF | Srinagar Srinagar Srinagar is the summer seasonal capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in Kashmir Valley and lies on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. It is one of the largest cities in India not to have a Hindu majority. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats... AFS |
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to... |
No. 1 Wing IAF |
| No. 77 Squadron IAF | Hindon Air Force Station Hindon Air Force Station Hindon Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force base under the Western Air Command . It is located near Ghaziabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh in the National Capital Region on the outskirts of Delhi, close to the Hindon River... |
Lockheed Martin C-130J | No. 28 Wing IAF |
| No. 108 Squadron IAF | Pathankot Air Force Station | Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to... M |
No. 18 Wing IAF |
| No. 223 Squadron IAF | Adampur | Mikoyan MiG-29 Mikoyan MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a fourth-generation jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union for an air superiority role. Developed in the 1970s by the Mikoyan design bureau, it entered service with the Soviet Air Force in 1983, and remains in use by the Russian Air Force as well as in many other... |
No. 8 Wing |
No. 1 Wing IAF was formed at Jammu Air Force Station on 10 March 1948 and moved to Sringar on 25 January 1963.
Air Bases
WAC has been assigned 10 permanent Air Force Stations (AFS)and 6 Forward Base Support Units (FBSUs), including the strategic Forward Air Base at Siachen. Along with these, WAC also has over 200 operational bases, Advance Landing Grounds (ALGs), and Operational centres placed under its command.The Air Force Stations/Wings under WAC control are:
Permanent Air Force Stations (AFS)
| Base | ICAO ICAO airport code The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and published in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators.The ICAO codes are used by air traffic... |
Runway Runway According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth... |
Elevation Elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface .... |
Coordinates | State/Territory States and territories of India India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adampur AFS | VIAX | 13/31 | 775 ft / 236 m | 31°25′59.55"N 75°45′38.85"E | Punjab Punjab (India) Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the... |
| Ambala AFS Ambala Air Force Base Ambala Air Force Station is an air base east of the urban Ambala area. It is used for military and government flights. It is also used to fly in politicians and other key people.-History:... |
VIAM | 12L/30R 12R/30L |
900 ft / 274 m | Haryana Haryana Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south... |
|
| Awantipur AFS | VIAW | 12/30 | 5,400 ft / 1,646 m | 33°52′35.86"N 74°58′32.45"E | Jammu & Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the... |
| Chandigarh AFS | VICG | 11/29 | 1,012 ft / 308 m | 30°40′24.49"N 76°47′18.75"E | Chandigarh Chandigarh Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city... |
| Halwara AFS Halwara Air Force Base Halwara Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force base near the town of Halwara in Punjab, India.Built and incepted in 1950, Air Force Station Halwara was one of the first air bases to be built after India's independence from the British Raj.... |
VIHX | 13/31 | 790 ft / 241 m | 30°44′54.72"N 75°37′47.23"E | Punjab |
| Hindon AFS Hindon Air Force Station Hindon Air Force Station is an Indian Air Force base under the Western Air Command . It is located near Ghaziabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh in the National Capital Region on the outskirts of Delhi, close to the Hindon River... |
VIDX | 09/27 | 700 ft / 213 m | 28°42′27.71"N 77°21′30.87"E | Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity... |
| Leh AFS | VILH | 06/24 07R/25L 07L/25R |
10,682 ft/ 3,256 m | 34°08′08.63"N 77°32′44.58"E | Jammu & Kashmir |
| Palam AFS | VIDP | 09/27 10/28 |
776 ft / 237 mts | 28°33′59.40"N 77°06′11.12"E | Delhi |
| Pathankot AFS | VIPK | 01/19 | 1,017 ft / 310 m | 32°14′01.60"N 75°38′04.66"E | Punjab |
| Srinagar AFS | VISR | 13/31 | 5,458 ft / 1,664 m | 33°59′12.82"N 74°46′25.78"E | Jammu & Kashmir |
Forward Base Support Units (FBSU)
| Base | ICAO ICAO airport code The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and published in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators.The ICAO codes are used by air traffic... |
Runway Runway According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth... |
Elevation Elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface .... |
Coordinates | State/Territory States and territories of India India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amritsar AFS | VIAR | 16/34 | 755 ft / 230 m | 31°42′27.95"N 74°47′57.25"E | Punjab |
| Bhatinda AFS | VIBT | 13/31 | 700 ft /213 m | 30°16′12.50"N 74°45′20.78"E | Punjab |
| Sarsawa AFS | VISP | 09/27 | 891 ft / 272 m | 29°59′39.53"N 77°25′27.25"E | Uttar Pradesh |
| Siachen Glacier AFS | 22,000 ft / 6,706 m | 35.5°N 77.0°E | Jammu & Kashmir | ||
| Sirsa AFS | VISA | 05/23 | 650 ft / 198 m | 29°33′38.09"N 75°00′21.87"E | Haryana Haryana Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south... |
| Udhampur AFS | VIUX | 18/36 | 1,950 ft / 594 m | 32°54′08.06"N 75°09′18.54"E | Jammu & Kashmir |
External links
- Western Air Command at IAF Official Website.
- Bharat Rakshak IAF Command Structure
- WAC at Globalsecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.orgGlobalSecurity.org, launched in 2000, is a public policy organization focusing on the fields of defense, space exploration, intelligence, weapons of mass destruction and homeland security...