Indian Air Force Pilots Using "Authorized" Drugs To Stay Alert

Indian Air Force pilots are increasingly using tablets to boost alertness levels and cognitive powers as well as fight fatigue and insomnia during round the clock combat exercises as well as long range sorties.

The innocuous looking tablets, the ‘Go’ Modafinil pills are used for alterness-enhancing and fatigue-managing properties whereas the ‘no-Go’ Zolpidem, a sedative is used to treat sleep deprivation between successive missions.

In the works for the last three to four years, these pills were used extensively in the highvoltage 'Livewire' exercise conducted by IAF from October 31 to November 8, which saw the "activation" of all its 54 airbases across the country, Times of India news daily reported Monday.

The tablets were used to ‘good effect during livewire by pilots of fighter jets and helicopters and even by the top brass. The pills have been designed to test both offensive and defensive capabilities for a two-front war contingency with "swing forces" being rapidly moved from the western theatre to the eastern one, and vice-versa. "It was a 24x7 exercise to stimulate a war, which requires high adrenaline levels and the ability to push the envelope.

The Go/No-Go pills are being used to optimise performance only after extensive clinical trials, both in simulators and actual flying, with all necessary safeguards," The news daily quoted an unnamed senior IAF officer. "The field trials and studies were conducted by our doctors to validate pharmacological strategies for sleep and alertness management for aircrews in extended operations.

It was established both Modafinil and Zolpidem would help to optimise our personnel's performance in a sustained operational scenario," he said.

After the adrenaline rush of a combat sortie with the Go pill, a fighter pilot needs to sleep well to ensure he remains sharp for the next mission.

"This is where the No-Go pill comes into play. It relaxes you, does not let your mind wander or worry," said a Sukhoi pilot.

Incidentally, a Sukhoi-30MKI has a cruising range of 3,200km, which can be doubled with mid-air refuelling.

This leads to an extended sortie. A sleep-deprived pilot will suffer from lower performance levels, poor judgment and reaction time, which becomes all the more deadly if he is flying a supersonic fighter undertaking inherently risky combat manoeuvres.

But can the use of Go/NoGo pills lead to addiction or adversely impact health? For one, the pills are not meant for everyday use, and are allowed only for specific missions under strict supervision. "For another, side-effects of both the pills during trials were negligible and did not appear to be a cause for concern," said the senior officer.