IAF to join US Red Flag exercise in 2013

IANS

New Delhi, 04 October 2011: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set to join the US Air Force-hosted prestigious ’Red Flag’ combat aviation exercise in the US in 2013.

 

"We will participate in the Red Flag exercise with the US sometime in 2013," IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Norman Anil Kumar Browne told a press conference here.

 

The IAF had joined the prestigious Red Flag exercise held at Nellis Air Force base in Nevada, US, in 2008. The Red Flag exercise is considered the pinnacle of combat aviation war gaming for its sheer quality that tests both the machine and the man behind the machine.

 

 

The IAF had flown its top notch Sukhoi fighter jets in the Red Flag exercise in 2008. Asked if any joint exercise with China is being envisaged, Browne said: "Frankly, there is nothing on the table as of now."

 

He, however, said that the IAF will hold a joint exercise with the Omani Air Force at Jamnagar in Gujarat in the middle of October, when the Jaguar combat jet fleets of both Air Forces will match their capabilities.

 

Later, the Singaporean Air Force will join the IAF in a joint exercise at Kalaikunda in West Bengal, he added.