An Indian Air Force contingent of eight Rafale fighter jets will take part in a two-week ( May 30 – June 14) advanced aerial combat training exercise ‘Red Flag’ at Alaska, US.

They will join the 3100 personal from four countries who are to fly, maintain and support more than 100 aircraft at the exercise.

The IAF on Thursday said its team had reached the Eielson air force base of the US for the upcoming edition of the multi-national exercise Red Flag 24. A, C-17 heavy lift plane and an IL-78 mid-air refueller is part of the IAF contingent.

Enroute the jets were refuelled mid-air by the IL-78 air-to-air refuellers. The Rafale jets took a transatlantic flight with staging halts at Greece and Portugal.

The exercise is to be hosted by the Pacific Air Forces of the US and primary flight operations would be over the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex.

“It is designed to provide realistic training in a simulated combat environment,” a US statement said.

This was expected to enable joint combined forces to exchange tactics, techniques and procedures while improving interoperability.

Red Flag-Alaska training spans from individual skills to complex, large-scale joint engagements. The exercises can be adapted to integrate various forces into a realistic threat environment using the more than 77,000 square miles of airspace in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, which is the largest combat training range in the world.

Courtesy: The Tribune India: 30th May , 2024