Amid Rafale Controversy, Indian And French Air Forces To Conduct Joint Exercise

TNN | Sep 3, 2018

Amid the ongoing Rs 58,000 crore deal controversy, three French Rafale combat jets are currently in India, to participate in an exercise along with Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots some 350 km away from national capital.

Returning from Australia after participating in exercise Pitch Black, a biennial three week multi-national force employment exercise, the detachment of French Air Force comprising one Atlas A-400M military transport aircraft, one C-135 refuelling aircraft and one airbus A310 cargo aircraft along with three fighters and 100 aircrew, landed in Gwalior IAF airbase last week and is claimed to stay for less than a week, before returning to France. It’s important to note, that Gwalior has Tactics and combat development establishment, where the IAF tests equipment, aircraft and develop tactics.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior IAF official said, there will be informal discussion between Indian and French officials on tactics and capability of the Rafale aircraft.

The French embassy in India in its statement said, “Joint flights and exchanges between the French and Indian Air Forces will be conducted.” According to the French government, “After Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore, the air detachment, which involves over a hundred aviators have stopover at the Air Force stations of Gwalior and Agra.”

Terming the present deployment of air detachment as an ‘operational mission’, the statement read, “It’s aim is to reinforce France’s presence in the region of strategic interest and deepen its relations with its main partner countries”. “This mission in India is yet another illustration of the depth of the Indo-French strategic partnership, which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year, and the great trust that prevails in the relations between our respective armed forces,” read the French government statement.

Last week, the IAF also participated in Pitch Black exercises with its Russian-designed Sukhoi-30 jets.

Courtesy: TOI