The first bilateral dissimilar air combat exercise between the U.S. Air Force and the Indian air force in more than 40 years took place in Gawalior on Feb. 16. Approximately 150 airmen from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, participated the exercise.
Dissimilar AIR COMBAT TRAINING, otherwise known as DACT, is simulated combat flying between two different types of aircraft. Indian air force aircraft that participated in the exercise include the Mirage 2000, MiG-21, MiG-27 and SU-30. The airmen from Elmendorf are flying F-15 Eagles.
Elmendorf provided aircrews, maintainers, communications, security and logistical support for the exercise. A tanker/airlift control element team from Travis AFB, Calif., also supported the exercise. As host, the Indian air force provided facilities, fuel, airspace and security, plus numerous professional exchange opportunities.
The station, located approximately 10 miles from the city of Gwalior in North Central India, is one of the oldest Indian air force bases in South Asia. The air force station is the center hub of operational training, testing and national-level exercises and includes the only Indian air force electronic warfare range, used to aid new pilots in aircraft familiarization.
Following two days of familiarization flights, the F-15s joined the Indian SU-30K Flanker, Mirage 2000, MIG-29 Fulcrum, MIG-27 Flogger and MIG-21 Bison aircraft in a series of offensive counter-air and defensive counter-air engagements.
Each engagement series lasted about 30 minutes over the nearby training range, and two series were scheduled each flying day. During nearly all these simulated combat sorties, the F-15s protected ground targets against advancing Indian aircraft.
Combined pre- and post-flight briefings set the stage and evaluated the scoring for each engagement.
The US. Air Force had never flown with or against the SU-30 Flanker before, so that aspect of this exercise was completely new for them. All the U.S. aircrew members were excited about the opportunity. In the past, many of these aircraft were considered ‘enemies’, so it was very encouraging and positive to fly with them as partners.
One challenge for U.S. airmen interacting with the Russain-made Mikoyan-Gurevich and Sukhoi aircraft was that those aircraft use metric measurements. But careful exercise planning and the first set of familiarization flights led to safe aircraft maneuvering during the engagement series.
Another challenge for U.S. crew members was the subtle language differences. Although all the Indian airmen participating in the exercise spoke fluent English, their speech is quicker, and the musical quality of their voices is something American ears needed to adjust to.
We’ve agreed to use U.S. communication terms during radio calls throughout the air engagements since the Indian air force was planned to participate in Cooperative Cope Thunder exercise later this year. (July 15 - 30)
The Indian airmen plan to take fighter, tanker and airlift aircraft plus a man-portable air-defense team and ground controllers to the annual multilateral exercise in Alaska run by Pacific Air Forces.
Gwalior AFS is the hub of the Indian air force’s operational training and testing and often plays host to national-level exercises. The station includes the only Indian air force electronic warfare range, which is being used for Cope India sorties.
Station Commander Air Commodore SP Rajguru had this to say about the flying operations.
The exchanges are very, very frank, both on the work side and otherwise, he said. The United States Air Force is a very modern air force and has global experience of flying and exercising with many countries in the world. So obviously any fighter pilot would like to interact closely to understand their operating philosophy.
Col. Greg Neubeck, U.S. Air Force commander for the exercise, was quick to return the compliment.
The (Indian) pilots are as aggressive as our pilots. They are excellent aviators; they work very hard at mission planning; they try to get as much out of a mission or sortie as possible, just like us, he said. From one fighter pilot to another, there’s really not that much difference in how we prepare for a mission and what we want to get out of it.
While the U.S. airmen were very curious about the Indian aircraft, the same was true of the local interest in the F-15. Between sorties, U.S. airmen gave operations and maintenance tours of the aircraft and answered questions from their Indian counterparts.
The exercise continued through Feb. 25.
Click here to view more pictures from the exercise.
This article is reproduced from the Air Force Link
PS I report on Defence matters because India spends nearly 20% of it budget on Defence. Two of Inda's neigbors openly covet her territory and don't foresake the use of violence to get it. Under the circumstances I think it is imperative that all Indians follow matters of defence closely. Our history, distant and recent, is replete with invasions that we invited upon ourselves by not being adequately prepared.
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