IAF to hold multinational aerial wargames involving 10-12 major global powers in desert sector

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Indian Air Force is going to hold a big multinational aerial exercise over its western desert which will include forces from countries including the US.

The multinational exercise is being planned to be held around the last quarter of 2023 where the air forces of around 10 to 12 countries are expected to participate, government sources told ANI.

The exercise would see the participating air forces carry out complex aerial missions involving a large number of aircraft from these countries, the sources said.

The Indian Air Force has just returned from a multinational exercise in France where a huge number of NATI members including host France and other countries had taken part.

The exercise planned to be held in the desert sector would apparently be one of the largest exercises to have ever been held in the country by the IAF, they said.

The Indian participation in the exercise would include its frontline Rafale combat aircraft along with the mainstay Sukhoi-30s in the exercise along with its force multipliers including mid-air refuelling aircraft and airborne early warning aircraft.

The IAF had sent its Rafale aircraft to the French multinational exercise Orion where the country’s only female Rafale aircraft pilot Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh also participated.

Many major Air Forces including the US, UK, and France along with various other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces were also part of it.

Asked about her participation in the multinational exercise Orion, Shivangi Singh said, “It was a great experience where I got an opportunity to meet the fighter pilots of different countries.”

Her fellow pilot Flight Lieutenant Xavier said that the performance of Indian pilots in the exercise was very much on par with their counterparts from other air forces. (ANI)