The Hindu : National : IAF, Royal Air Force joint exercise resumes

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Tuesday, Oct 26, 2010
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National

IAF, Royal Air Force joint exercise resumes

Staff Reporter

KOLKATA: After a two-day break, fliers of the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force were back in the skies on Monday as part of Indradhanush, the joint exercise between the two countries that started in the Kalaikunda Air Force Station in West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district last week.

“Progressing very well”

“The exercise has been progressing very well so far. None of the sorties was stopped despite bad weather conditions last week as a result of cyclonic circulations in the head bay, in northern Bay of Bengal,” said Mahesh Upasani, Chief Public Relations Office, Ministry of Defence.

The pilots continued on their respective missions saying that the weather conditions only added to the challenge, he added.

While pilots would continue with missions related to Large Force Engagements for now, the next phase of the exercise will begin on October 27, which includes RADAR denial, he said.

Focus on air defence

The missions in this exercise are focussed on air defence.

The first phase, ‘Large Force Engagement,' deals with the deployment of a large number of aircraft within a limited air-space, a situation that can be a nightmare for air traffic controllers, but commonly faced in combat situations, sources said.

Since the attack and defence aircraft come in waves, planes come into close proximity in the skies and the skills of both the fighter pilots and fighter-controller (the person manning the RADAR) are tested, they added.

The second phase of the exercise, RADAR denial, deals with a situation when due to unforeseen circumstances, the RADAR stops functioning.

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