Red Flag exercise from May 3: Indian fighter pilots all set to take on American top guns

NEW DELHI: Indian fighter pilots in their Sukhoi-30MKI and Jaguar jets, after an extensive “work-up phase”, are now all set to take on American top guns in their F-22s, F-18s and F-16s in the high-voltage Red Flag exercise at Eielson USAF airbase in Alaska from May 3.
The IAF contingent of four Sukhoi-30MKIs, four Jaguars, two IL-78 mid-air refuellers and two C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift aircraft was till now flying a variety of missions to get familiar with the new flying environment and local procedures, radio telephony terminologies and “Nato brevity codes”.
“The team adopted a philosophy of 'crawl, walk & run’, signifying the progressive build-up in the effort, pace and complexities of the training sorties during the work-up phase. It’s noteworthy the local F-16 aggressor squadron has appreciated IAF’s performance in the multiple missions conducted so far,” said IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Rochelle D’Silva.
It was on April 3 that the IAF contingent, with over 200 personnel, had set off from the Jamnagar airbase for the Red Flag exercise in the US, which is considered to be the most realistic air combat operation without actually going to war.

After demonstrating the capability to deploy “a trans-continental task force” of fighters, tankers and heavy-lift aircraft across the globe, the IAF pilots will hone their combat skills in the exercise with thousands of targets, realistic threat systems and an opposing enemy force.
This is the second time IAF is participating in the Red Flag exercise, having earlier taken part in the intense combat manoeuvres at the Nellis airbase in Nevada, northwest of Las Vegas, in 2008. The entire endeavour then had involved flying close to 20,000-km, with well over 300 sorties.
IAF fighter pilots have managed to hold their own and often outgun their rivals in the series of bilateral exercises with US, UK, France and others over the years.