New Delhi, Nov. 20: The first
India-Russia air force exercises began a second innings at Halwara in
Punjab this week, following up on drills hosted by Russia in its
Astrakhan region in August-September.
With “Avia Indra
2014”, all three military services of India are now in regular drills
with the Russians. The navies exercised with each other in the Sea of
Japan earlier this year and an Indian army contingent was hosted in
Russia last year.
In the Russian
phase of the exercise from August 25 to September 5, an 18-member team
of the Indian Air Force was involved in counter-terrorism training with
Mi35 helicopter gunships. The IAF fighter pilots also flew in the
aircraft of the Russian Federation Air Force (RFAF).
The IAF combat
fighters are mostly of Soviet/Russian origin. In the second phase that
began this week, the Indians and Russians were exchanging notes on
symbols and languages. Although they operate similar aircraft, the
language spoken and written are very different. IAF sources said the
Russians would fly in the IAF’s Sukhoi 30Mki fighter aircraft next week.
The drills include ground attack manoeuvres at the S.K. Range in
Punjab.
The Russian
delegation is headed by Major General Alexander N, Lyapkin. It includes
an air defence crew who will demonstrate anti-aircraft missile firing.
The exercise will continue till November 28.
Apart from the
Sukhoi 30Mki fighter aircraft, which were certified fit for flying after
an accident last month, the IAF has deployed Mi-17 and Mi-35
helicopters for the exercise.
Since 2003,
Russian and Indian forces have participated in 11 Indra series exercises
involving the armies and the navies. With Avia Indra, the air forces
have also joined the series of drills.
