For the First Time, Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating in the Annual Multinational Large force employment warfare exercise ‘Desert Flag VI’ held at the Al-Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. The exercise is hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force from March 3-27, 2021.
- It is the 1st time that IAF is participating in a multilateral exercise in the Gulf Region.
- Participating Countries – Bahrain, France, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and USA.
- Observers – Greece, Jordan, Kuwait & Egypt.
Objective of the Exercise
- To provide operational exposure to Participating forces
- Training the forces to undertake Simulated Air Combat operations in a controlled environment.
Assets representing IAF
The IAF is participating in the exercise with
- 6 – Su-30 MKI Multirole Combat Fighter Jets
- 2 – C-17 Globemaster III military airlift Aircrafts
- 1 – Ilyushin IL-78 Tanker Aircraft (aerial refueling tanker)
Fourth Multilateral exercise in the last 5 years
IAF is participating in such a multilateral exercise for the 4th time in the last 5 years.
Other Multilateral exercises
- American ‘Red Flag’ – 2016
- Israeli ‘Blue Flag’ – 2017
- Australian ‘Pitch Black’ wargames – 2018
Export of BrahMos & Akash Missiles
At present, India is holding discussions for exporting BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missiles (Strike range of 290 Kms) & Akash Air Defence Missiles (range of 25 kms) to UAE & Saudi Arabia.
Recent Related News:
i.Indian Air Force (IAF) and French Air and Space Force (FASF) participated in the 1st Edition of Bilateral Air Exercise ‘Exercise Desert Knight-21 (Ex DK-21)’ held at Air Force Station, Jodhpur for 5 days from January 20-24, 2021.
About United Arab Emirates (UAE):
Capital– Abu Dhabi
Currency– United Arab Emirates dirham
About Indian Air Force (IAF):
Chief of the Air Staff – Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
Headquarters – New Delhi
