India Sends Fighters And Aircraft For Multi-Nation Exercise In UK

India sent Mirage-2000 fighters and other planes to the UK on Sunday as part of the “Cobra Warrior” exercise, which is a multi-nation air combat wargame.

Five Mirage-2000 jets, two C-17 Globemaster-III strategic airlift planes, and one IL-78 mid-air refuelling plane, along with 145 IAF members, flew from Jamnagar air base to the UK for the exercise at Waddington.

“The Cobra Warrior is an international exercise that will take place from March 6 to 24. Along with the Royal Air Force and IAF, air forces from the US, Finland, Sweden, South Africa, and Singapore will take part. The goal is to take part in different fights with fighter planes and learn from the best ways other air forces do things, said Wing Commander Ashish Moghe, a spokesperson for the IAF.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has already sent five of its own Tejas fighters, two C-17s, and 110 people to the Al Dhafra air base in the UAE for the “Desert Flag-VIII” multi-nation exercise from February 27 to March 17.

Every year, the Indian armed forces take part in a wide range of land, air, and sea combat exercises to improve their ability to work with other militaries and to improve their relationships with friendly countries.

An officer said, “The exercises build strategic cooperation with countries that have similar goals. They also give the armed forces a chance to improve their combat skills and operational tactics.”

At the Gwalior air base, the IAF has three Mirage-2000 squadrons. Even though most of the Mirage-2000s came from France in the mid-1980s, most of them have been upgraded as part of a large Rs 17,547 crore project. For example, 490 MICA missile systems cost Rs 6,600 crore and are part of this project.

During the early morning attack on the JeM terror base at Balakot in Pakistan on February 26, 2019, Israeli Spice-2000 precision-guided penetration bombs were fired from Mirage-2000 planes.