In the first initiative in the masterpiece of the Persian Gulf Region, India will be preparing to participate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) largest anti-aviation missile service by airplanes and airlines this month.
On Wednesday the IAF will deploy six Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, two C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft, and an estimated 125 personnel to exercise at a high-powered “Desert Flag”, which will host air forces from the US, France, South Korea, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain.
Greece, Jordan, Kuwait, and Egypt, too, will be the “spectators” of a three-week air warfare operation at the Al Dhafra airbase in the UAE, which includes American F-15s and F-16s, French Rafales, and Mirage- the 2000s with Russian-born Sukhois participating.
India has wisely built strong defense relations with the Gulf region through military training, intelligence sharing, and a few international exercises over the years. But this will be the first time that the IAF has participated in various programs in the important Gulf region, told the chief executive. He also added the exercise will see the whole game of offensive and annoying and defensive actions with the power to strengthen forces such as AWACS (aircraft warning and control systems) and flight-refueling aircraft that put aircraft in a real combat environment.
This will be the fourth time the IAF has participated in such exercises in the last five years, after the American ‘Red Flag’ in 2016, the Israeli ‘Blue Flag’ in 2017, and the Australian ‘Pitch Black’ war games in 2018.
The IAF’s flexibility in working in various locations, from the Ladakh and Highlands states of Rajasthan to the Indian Ocean region, has made it a preferred partner in those war games around the world.
“In addition, the IAF has successfully integrated Western troops (Rafales, Mirage-2000 and Jaguars) with oriental blogs (Sukhois and MiGs), and now with the indigenous (Tejas), and its network operations,” said one police officer.
The advancement of military relations with Gulf states also saw General MM Naravane’s visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, on the first such visit by the Indian Army Chief in December last year, at a time when their close ties with Pakistan have been in turmoil in recent months. The UAE also took the lead in the Gulf states in “repairing” relations with Israel, a country in which India has close ties to military tactics. The UAE Air Force, incidentally, has been providing support with its Airbus MRTT fuel aircraft to the new IAF suspects in Rafale on their more than 7,000-km flights to India from France.
India is also in discussions to ship the BrahMos supersonic cruise, a 290-km strike, and the Akash air defense missile, a 25-kilometer stretch, to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, among other countries.
