The Indian and French air forces will conduct bilateral Exercise Desert Knight-21 at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 20th to 24th Jan 21 .
The bilateral air combat exercise involving the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the French Air and Space Force (Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace) be unique as, for the first time ever, both sides will participate with Rafale aircraft.
An Indian ministry of defence statement said on Tuesday: “The French side will participate with Rafale, Airbus A-330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), A-400M Tactical Transport aircraft and approximately 175 personnel.”
“The Indian Air Force aircraft participating in the exercise will include Mirage 2000, Sukhoi-30 MKI, Rafale, IL-78 Flight Refuelling Aircraft, AWACS and AEW&C aircraft,” said the MoD.
“The exercise marks an important milestone in the series of engagements between the two air forces. As part of Indo-French defence cooperation, IAF and French Air and Space Force have held six editions of air exercises named 'Garuda', the latest being in 2019 at Air Force Base Mont-de-Marsan, France.
In addition, the two forces have been utilising opportunities to conduct what they term as “hop-exercises”.
For example, in 2018, a French Air and Space Force detachment was hosted by the IAF at Air Force Stations Agra and Gwalior while ferrying to Australia for Exercise Pitchblack.
The French detachment participating in the current Exercise Desert Knight-21 at Air Force Station Jodhpur is deployed in Asia as part of their 'Skyros Deployment'.
“As the two detachments commence their air exchange from 20 Jan onwards, they will put into practice operational experience gained across terrains and spectrums and endeavour to exchange ideas and best practices to enhance interoperability,” stated the MoD.
But why should we open IL 76 et al . Totally unwarranted decision
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