New Delhi, Oct. 11: The air force chiefs of India and the UK are likely to personally lead fighter aircraft in war games out of Kalaikunda in Bengal from October 18.
Air Chief Marshals Pradeep Vasant Naik and Sir Stephen Dalton will join their fighter pilots in Eurofighter Typhoons of the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) and Sukhois of the Indian Air Force (IAF) that fly out of Kalaikunda for manoeuvres over the Bay of Bengal.
The air chiefs will join the drill towards the end of the two-week exercise, named “Indradhanush”, that ends on November 3.
The air chiefs are 60 and 61 years of age. Officers in the IAF usually do not fly the demanding fighter aircraft as a routine beyond the rank of Wing Commander.
Both Naik and Dalton have supervised major induction programmes for their air forces. Dalton was the director of the Eurofighter Typhoon programme when the aircraft was inducted in the RAF to replace the Tornadoes that he flew during the cold war and in armed missions over Iraq.
Naik has flown all types of fighter aircraft in the inventory of the IAF and was among the eight pilots selected to induct the MiG-23 from Russia. Currently, his main job is to ensure the selection of an aircraft under the $12 billion medium multi-role combat aircraft programme.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the six aircraft in competition for that order. The other five are — the F-16 Super Viper, the F-18 Super Hornet, the Gripen NG, the Rafale and the MiG-35.
The Typhoons would be seen in a joint operational scenario in the India for the first time in the exercise at Kalaikunda in West Midnapore. The IAF will be deploying, apart from the Sukhoi 30 Mki, its Mirage MiG 27s and Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) Aircraft. The RAF is also flying in its AWACS (E-3D) and mid-air refuellers (VC-10).
“The exercise Indradhanush is an opportunity for both air forces to get an insight into each other’s operational philosophies and work cultures. This will enhance the understanding of our air force to operate in a scenario involving state-of the-art technologies,” said Air Marshal K.K. Nohwar, Air Officer Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command.
In a written brief to the participating aircrew, Air Marshal L.K. Malhotra, senior air staff officer of the Eastern Air Command said: “This exercise will prove to be a boon for both the nations to fine tune their procedures for multi-national operations, which are likely to happen with greater frequency in future. It will help fine tunetactics for large force engagements and also share each others experience to hone up the skills even more”.
The IAF has modernised the Kalaikunda base and hosts large-scale international exercises there.
