Exercise 'Indra Dhanush' gets underway in UK
New Delhi, July 4: The Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal AirForce (RAF) have commenced their second bilateral air exercise'Indradhanush-2007' with their personnel getting into the act at theRAF base Waddington, in the UK.
The inaugural day Monday -- primarily for familiarisation of theparticipating IAF's Su-30 MKI aircrew with the flying environment in UK-- saw the IAF Air Warriors flying alongside RAF F3 Tornadoes of theLeeming-based 25 Squadron -- operating from Waddington for the durationof the exercise, according to reports received here.
Also airborne were a Eurofighter Typhoon from the No 17 Squadron from RAF Conningsby, and a Hawk aircraft.
''It will be a mutual learning experience for both'', said WingCommander AK Bharti, talking of the learning values in terms ofinter-operability between the two Air Forces after returning from asortie of a four-aircraft formation comprising the Su-30 MKI, F3Tornado, Typhoon and a Hawk.
The 'airborne warning and control' (AWAC) system experience -- averitable electronic 'eye-in-the-sky' platform -- was also observed bya few IAF personnel onboard an E3-D Sentry AWAC aircraft belonging toRAF's No 8 Fighter Squadron, based in Waddington.
The E3-D Sentry and the F3 Tornadoes had also participated in thefirst edition of 'Exercise Indradhanush-2006', held at Gwalior, lastyear.
The exercise between two simulated air elements, the "Red Air"(aggressors) and the "Blue Air" (defenders) forces, will have thetraining element for the latter. Missions comprising multiple aircraftwill form some of the intrinsic training missions, some of them highlyadvanced and complex.
Mediating between the two will be the "White" force, who remainneutral and whose decisions will be the last word, to mitigatedifferences, if any.
They comprise 'observers' from both sides, and include membersfrom the IAF's 'Tactics and Combat Development Establishment' (TACDE)and the RAF's 'Air Warfare Centre' (AWC), the premier institutions ofthe two Air Forces, constituting the 'best-amongst-the-best' aircrewand personnel on both sides.
UNI
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