NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JAN 21
Rafale fighter jets of Indian and French air forces on Thursday carried out a plethora of complex aerial manoeuvres along with other frontline combat jets as part of a five-day mega exercise in Jodhpur to further enhance their operational coordination, officials said.
Gen Bipin Rawat #CDS visited #AirForceStation Jodhpur today & flew a sortie on the French MRTT ac along with Maj Gen Laurent Lherbette of @Armee_de_lair. CDS interacted with both contingents & remarked that he was enthused with the opportunity to witness the #IndoFrenchEx. pic.twitter.com/N1ziMfMSgT
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) January 21, 2021
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat flew a sortie in a Phenix Airbus A330 multi-role tanker transport aircraft of the French Air and Space Force and witnessed the first day’s drill at the ”Exercise Desert Knight 21”.
Recap of a #FrenchWednesday on a #ThrowbackThursday with glimpses of the arrival of the French contingent at Air Force Station Jodhpur last evening.#BienvenueEnInde#IndoFrenchEx#DesertKnight21 pic.twitter.com/KtTcgSO6cC
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) January 21, 2021
Apart from Rafale jets, the Indian Air Force deployed its Sukhoi and Mirage 2000 combat aircraft and other key assets like IL-78 flight refuelling plane as well as airborne warning and control system (AWACS), the officials said.
The French side participated with Rafale, Airbus A-330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), and A-400M Tactical Transport aircraft.
#IndoFrenchEx
French Air and Space Force is participating with 1*MRTT Tanker, 2*A-400M Tactical aircraft & 4* Rafale fighters in #DesertKnight21.The full complement of IAF & French teams are at Jodhpur, ready to exercise jointly to enhance interoperability.
Together we can! pic.twitter.com/Xkrm0yxN1S
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) January 21, 2021
The exercise, that began on Wednesday, is taking place at a time the IAF has been keeping all its frontline bases across the country in a high state of operational readiness because of the Sino-India border standoff in eastern Ladakh.
“The exercise is unique as it includes fielding of Rafale aircraft by both sides and is indicative of the growing interaction between the two premier air forces,” the IAF had said in a statement on Tuesday.
The French and Indian air forces have been conducting Garuda exercises for the last several years as part of efforts to boost operational cooperation.
“Four Rafale combat jets, two Atlas A400M military transport aircraft, and a Phénix A330 multirole tanker transport aircraft manned by 170-odd French aviators will take part in joint drills with an Indian Air Force deployment,” the French embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.
In a boost to its strike capability, the IAF received the first batch of five Rafale jets in July last year, nearly four years after the government inked an agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at Rs 59,000 crore. The second batch of three Rafale fighter jets joined the IAF in November.
The Rafale jets, manufactured by French aerospace major Dassault Aviation, are India’s first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 years after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.
The newly inducted fleet has been carrying out sorties in eastern Ladakh.
