India to hold joint aerial exercise with UK
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The Indian Air Force (IAF) will conduct a joint aerial exercise with the British Royal Air Force ( RAF) on Oct.18, local media reported on Tuesday.
The 17-day exercise, called Exercise Indra Dhanush, will be held at Kalaikunda air base in the Indian eastern state of West Bengal, and the two air forces will dispatch some advanced aircraft to join, such as AWACSs (Airborne Early Warning and Control System), fighters and air refuellers, Press Trust of India reported, quoting an official of the IAF.
It will be the first time for the two countries to mobilize their advanced AWACS to participate in the exercise. The IAF will field its newly-deployed sophisticated Phalcon AWACS, while the RAF will dispatch its E-3D, according to the report.
The most advanced fighters of the two countries will be involved in the exercise, including the IAF's Su-30MKI and RAF's Typhoons. It will be the first time for the RAF to deploy its Typhoons in India to join the exercise.
The RAF's Typhoon is the newly commissioned highly-capable and extremelyagile fighter in recent years, and it could perform air- to-air and air-to-ground attacking tasks with the missiles and precision guided munitions.
It will be the second time for the IAF's Su-30MKI to conduct mocked air combat with the RAF's Typhoon. In July, 2007, the IAF's Su-30MKI first engaged the RAF's Typhoon in an exercise in the UK.
The other fighters of the IAF will also join the exercise, such as Mirage-2000s and MiG-27s.
During the exercise, the two air forces will practice many aerial combat subjects, such as air reconnaissance, search, air-to- air fight and air-to ground strike.
The IAF will focus on the training to improve its capabilities of large force engagement and protection of the high-value targets, said the official of the IAF.
The IAF's Eastern Air Commander lieutenant General Nohwar said it will be a good opportunity for the two air forces to know each other's operational philosophies and working culture.
The official of the IAF said the exercise will greatly promote mutual understanding and refine procedures for future joint exercise between the two air forces.
In recent years, the IAF has increased its joint aerial exercises with the Western countries, such as the U.S., UK and France.
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