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. The Bilateral 1st of its kind exercise involved the participation of Rafale fighter jets from both sides.
- Other Indian assets which participated in the exercise are Su-30 MKI, Mirage 2000, Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS), Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C), IL-78 Flight Refuelling Aircraft.
- The participating assets from the French side are A400M Tactical Transport Aircraft, A330 MRTT (Medium Range Tanker and Transport) aircraft.
i.Missions undertaken during the exercise:
- Larger Force Engagement
- The Exercises were conducted in realistic settings to enhance operational capabilities & interoperability between the two sides
- Sharing of best practices & development of operational concepts between the two sides focussing on effective combat employment of Rafale fighter jets.
ii.India & France are also jointly set to conduct wargames codenamed Exercise SKYROS in January at Jodhpur.
- SKYROS is a war game which will involve Rafael Fighter Jets from both Countries
- It will be the 1st Major Wargame of IAF involving the participation of IAF
iii.Other regular Defence Exercises between India & France are
- Varuna – Naval Exercise
- Garuda – Air Exercise
- Shakti – Army Exercise
Recent Related News:
i.On November 4, 2020, 2nd Batch of Three Rafale Fighter Jets landed at the Jamnagar Air Base in Gujarat.
About Indian Air Force (IAF):
Chief of Air staff (CAS)– Rakesh Kumar Singh Badhauria
Headquarters– New Delhi
About France:
President – Emmanuel Macron
Capital – Paris
Currency – Euro,CFP franc
