In the first such effort, India will participate in a major multinational air combat exercise with fighter jets and heavy-duty airlifters this month in the strategically located Persian Gulf region.
The IAF will send on Wednesday six Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, two Globemaster-III C-17s and about 125 high-voltage ‘Desert Flag’ staff to be attended by the US, French, South Korean, UAE, Saudi Arabia and the Bahrain forces. Air Force participation will be anticipated.
The three-day wargames organized by Al Dhafra air base air warfare center in the UAE with the participation of fighters such as American F-15, French Rafales, and Mirage 2000, and Russian origin Sukhois, Greece, Jordan, Kuwait, and Egypt will in turn be “observer.”
Over the years, India has developed closer security relations with Gulf countries by means of military training, intelligence sharing and a few bilateral exercises. “But the IAF will engage for the first time in such a multilateral exercise in the critical Gulf area,” a senior officer said.
