Air chief gives thumbs-up to 'Zleep' pills
RAHUL SINGH
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2004 12:47:49 AM ]
CHANDIGARH: 'Zleep' pills are on their way to becoming 'diet' for IAF pilots flying long-duration sorties, after the positive results produced by these short-acting sleep inducers during exercise Cooperative Cope Thunder in Alaska.
The IAF has, however, decided that it will be entirely up to the pilots if they want to pop these pills, being marketed as Zolpidem, to keep their biological clock functioning normally.
Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy told The Times of India at Ambala that the pills would be used only if pilots were flying sorties longer than 4-5 hours. Jaguar pilots tried out `Zleep’ on their way to Alaska and back as they flew sorties extending beyond four hours. The pills will be used again soon when Mirage pilots fly to South Africa to participate in multilateral air exercises.
The IAF settled for `Zleep’ after establishing that the pills are not addictive. Sqn Ldr M S Nataraja, aerospace medicine specialist who was part of the Cope Thunder crew, said the pills did not leave any residual effect in the pilot’s body six hours after being administered. The pill trial was conducted for the first time by the IAF this May before the pilots flew to Alaska.
Sqn Ldr B Naithani, a Jaguar pilot, said, "We were trained on pills. The results were satisfactory, especially while returning from Alaska when we were losing about three hours daily." Sqn Ldr Nataraja said that foreign air forces were also using sleep inducers to carry out `continuous operations’ or air combat missions at odd hours. "They also use stimulants, but that’s a strict no-no for us," he said.
There are reports that American bomber pilots are actually encouraged to take amphetamines, and upon return to base are sometimes offered tranquilisers to help them sleep. :loony
This had come to light during an investigation of two F 16 pilots responsible for dropping a laser-guided bomb on a Canadian unit in Afghanistan, which killed four Canadian servicemen. Once nicknamed “uppers†or “speed,†amphetamines are now known as ``go-pills’’ in the US Air Force, used to revitalise exhausted pilots during combat missions.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/821721.cms
RAHUL SINGH
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 2004 12:47:49 AM ]
CHANDIGARH: 'Zleep' pills are on their way to becoming 'diet' for IAF pilots flying long-duration sorties, after the positive results produced by these short-acting sleep inducers during exercise Cooperative Cope Thunder in Alaska.
The IAF has, however, decided that it will be entirely up to the pilots if they want to pop these pills, being marketed as Zolpidem, to keep their biological clock functioning normally.
Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy told The Times of India at Ambala that the pills would be used only if pilots were flying sorties longer than 4-5 hours. Jaguar pilots tried out `Zleep’ on their way to Alaska and back as they flew sorties extending beyond four hours. The pills will be used again soon when Mirage pilots fly to South Africa to participate in multilateral air exercises.
The IAF settled for `Zleep’ after establishing that the pills are not addictive. Sqn Ldr M S Nataraja, aerospace medicine specialist who was part of the Cope Thunder crew, said the pills did not leave any residual effect in the pilot’s body six hours after being administered. The pill trial was conducted for the first time by the IAF this May before the pilots flew to Alaska.
Sqn Ldr B Naithani, a Jaguar pilot, said, "We were trained on pills. The results were satisfactory, especially while returning from Alaska when we were losing about three hours daily." Sqn Ldr Nataraja said that foreign air forces were also using sleep inducers to carry out `continuous operations’ or air combat missions at odd hours. "They also use stimulants, but that’s a strict no-no for us," he said.
There are reports that American bomber pilots are actually encouraged to take amphetamines, and upon return to base are sometimes offered tranquilisers to help them sleep. :loony
This had come to light during an investigation of two F 16 pilots responsible for dropping a laser-guided bomb on a Canadian unit in Afghanistan, which killed four Canadian servicemen. Once nicknamed “uppers†or “speed,†amphetamines are now known as ``go-pills’’ in the US Air Force, used to revitalise exhausted pilots during combat missions.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/821721.cms