Garuda-VI: Indo-French Joint Air Exercise begins

Indian Air Force (IAF) and Armée de l’Air (French Air Force) are participating in Garuda VI, a bilateral air exercise at Mont de Marsan in France.

The last edition of joint exercise between IAF-FAF was held in June 2014 at Air Force Station Jodhpur, Rajasthan. This year is the 6th edition of exercise which is taking place from 1 July to 12 July 2019.

About Garuda VI

Objective: This joint India-France air exercise is aimed at enhancing interoperability level of French and Indian crews in air defence and ground attack missions.

Drill: The exercise will see most potent fighter aircraft of India and France going head-to-head to validate latest defence strategies and fine-tune their waging capabilities.

Aircrafts Participating: It is expected to showcase fighter jets such as Rafale, Sukhoi 30 and Mirage 2000 from two sides.

• IAF contingent comprises of- 120 air-warriors and 4 Sukhoi 30 MKI along with an IL-78 flight refuelling aircraft. Also, IAF’s C-17 Globemaster strategic lift aircraft will provide logistics support to contingent during induction and de-induction phases.
• French Air Force (FAF) units will comprise- Rafale, Mirage 2000, C135, E3F, C130, Casa and Alpha Jet.

Significance: Such joint exercises between two countries increases understanding of interoperability during mutual operations between two air forces as well as provide an opportunity to learn from each other’s best practices.