IAF’s pilot selection process gets high-tech and ‘accurate’
By IANSThursday, August 5, 2010
NEW DELHI - The Indian Air Force (IAF) will in another three years put in place a new system to select fighter pilots for its cutting edge and high performance aircraft fleet, it was announced Thursday.
The computerized mechanism developed by India’s defence scientists “accurately” evaluates the multi-tasking qualities of a candidate, like psychomotor, information processing, coordination and visualisation skills, said Manas K. Mandal, director of the Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR).
The IAF and the premier Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) jointly developed the Computerised Pilot Selection System (CPSS) that took nearly 10 years to take a practical shape.
The IAF and DRDO signed an agreement Thursday, according to which 20 CPSSs will be installed at each of the three IAF selection boards at Dehradun, Varanasi and Mysore. Another 10 will be on standby.
It took DIPR of the DRDO, the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) and the IAF 10 years to develop the technology for the integrated new age selection system which conforms to the paradigm shift in piloting of new high-tech aircraft.
