Joint practice between Indian and British air forces

Gwalior, Oct 13 (UNI) In the face of emerging challenges related to defence before the world, joint practice between armies of two countries has acquired utmost significance, Indian Air Force (IAF) Air Marshal K D Singh and Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) Air-Vice Marshal Christopher N Harper stressed today.

Talking to mediapersons on the conclusion of ten-day joint practice 'Indra Dhanush' of air force of the two countries conducted at Agra and Gwalior, Mr Harper said joint practice had become necessary to confront fresh challenges, as it could not be said with certainty when an attack was unleashed.

Several forces for disrupting peace had raised their heads and the importance of joint practice could be seen in the perspective of Iraq and Afghanistan, he reasoned.

Mr Singh said the two countries exchanged techniques, strategic understanding and operational methods during the joint practice, which was a valuable experience for both.

''We learnt about 3-D system of RAF's Airborne Warning and Control System (Awacs) aircraft and our pilots obtained information about its working mechanism and technical aspects,'' he disclosed.

There was a possibility that three such aircraft would be included in IAF's fleet next year.

Lauding IAF's Sukhoi 30 aircraft, Mr Harper said it was beneficial as well as interesting to learn about the aircraft.

Mr Singh pointed out that the joint practice was not conducted as war between two countries but was based on security-related aspects.

UNI MKS-PS 1704