Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Friday dedicated to the nation the new Computerised Pilot Selection System (CPSS) at No.2 Air Force Selection Board in Mysuru which will replace the Pilot Aptitude Battery Test (PABT) that has been used for decades.
The CPSS was conceived by the then Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam with a view to adopt a better tool for conducting pilot aptitude test in consonance with the modern aircrafts of the IAF. The project was also aimed at addressing the issue of the alarming rate of flying accidents in the IAF attributed to pilot error.
The CPSS has been jointly developed by the Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR) and the Air Defence Establishment (ADE) of the DRDO through a decade-long research. According to IAF personnel, the new selection system places special emphasis on psychomotor skills and cognitive abilities of the candidates while screening them for selection into the flying branch of the IAF. The computerized pilot selection system ensures objectivity in results and uniformity in the degree of difficulty faced by the candidates.
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said it was a major step towards ensuring the safety of our skies. Only the best of the lot can fully exploit the potential of the ultra modern technology being inducted in to the IAF to establish itself as a power to reckon with in South East Asia'', he added.
‘’The CPSS is a modern facility and a lot of team work between the DRDO, IAF and DIPR has gone into it and the three organisations have worked and produced something that is operationally relevant for testing the young people for flying’’, said Mr.Raha. The new system has already been installed in the other Air Force Selection Boards in the country and would be operationalized, he added. He also addressed eh local IAF personnel.
