By AIR CHIEF MARSHAL V.R. CHAUDHARI (RETD), FORMER CHIEF OF THE AIR STAFF, INDIAN AIR FORCE

The visuals of Exercise (Ex) Veer Guardian at Jodhpur, especially those of the IAF Chief and his Japanese counterpart flying alongside in Tejas aircraft, brought back a flood of memories of international exercises in the last five to six years.

The IAF’s engagement with other air forces began at the turn of the century with Ex Garuda, a bilateral exercise with the French Air Force. This was followed by Ex Cope India with the USAF the next year. In the subsequent years the IAF participated in Cope-Thunder in Alaska, Ex Golden Eagle in South Africa, Ex Indradhanush in the UK along with Joint Military Training (JMT) with the Republic of Singapore Air Force taking place in India every year. The pattern of one “out” exercise and one “in” exercise every alternative year had been set and the bonds of friendship with fellow air warriors were growing.

My first visit abroad as the Chief of the Air Staff was to Egypt to attend their flagship defence exposition, EDEX and participate in the air power conference hosted by the Egypt Air Force (EAF). During the bilateral meeting with the host, Air Marshal Mohamed Abbas Helmy, we discussed the feasibility of IAF participating in their Tactical Leadership programme, akin to our course at TACDE. He visited India shortly thereafter and reiterated the benefit of the proposal. Fortunately, I got the in-principle approval from India’s Defence Minister and it set the ball rolling for increased interaction with the EAF. Barely a month later, our Su-30 MKI aircraft were in the Combat Commander’s School in Egypt, sharing knowledge on tactics and maintaining cohesion with an assorted fleet of aircraft that we both possess.

In the following months our Defence Minister visited Egypt (where he signed a MoU for defence cooperation), the Egyptian President Sisi was the Chief Guest at our Republic Day celebrations and finally Prime Minister Modi made a state visit to Egypt. The upshot of these engagements was that another request to participate in Ex Bright Star in Egypt, met with immediate approvals!

The JASDF Chief of Staff General Izutsu Shunji (Bert) had visited India in late 2020 and I had the honour of hosting him as the AOC-in-C of WAC. In 2022, prior to the 2+2 meeting in Japan, I was hosted by the JASDF CAS. During our meeting we agreed to take forward our engagements of Ex Shinyuu Maitri (airlift and mobility exercise) to include aerial combat exercises with fighter aircraft. The 2+2 forum that discussed bilateral military cooperation, gave the green flag to hold the first exercise in Japan. But a word about the Japanese penchant for perfection. During my visit, almost seven months before Ex Veer Guardian, they had prepared Hyakuri air base for welcoming the IAF. In a tour of the base, they showed me the hangar, work stations, briefing rooms and crew rooms earmarked for the Indian contingent, with Indian flags and IAF crests adorning the entrance to every room in that building!

I was fortunate to fly a simulated interception sortie in the JASDF F-2B over the foggy Pacific Ocean with ‘Bert’ filming me from another F-2 in close formation.

When I discussed participation of Koku-Jeitai (JASDF) in any future multi-lateral exercise, I had got a positive response. In September 2024, when we conducted Ex Tarang Shakti, the JASDF had committed to send three F-2’s, but unfortunately, due to bad weather and some technical issues, they could not reach India before the exercise got over. However, their 100+ strong ground contingent and their CAS, General Hiroaki Uchikura were in Jodhpur, witnessing the events.

The years 2022-2023 saw the IAF being invited by almost all major air forces of the world for bilateral or multi-lateral exercises. In 2018, IAF had for the first time flown the Su-30 MKI across to Darwin to take part in Ex Pitch-black, a multilateral exercise in Australia. IAF again took part in the exercise in 2022, 2024, and just a month ago. On return from Australia, the IAF routinely engaged with the Royal Malaysian Air Force in Ex Udara-Shakti.

The pattern of one ‘out’ exercise and one ‘in’ exercise every alternative year had been set and the bonds of friendship with fellow air warriors growing

During the 75th anniversary of the USAF in Washington DC, a global Air Chief’s conference was held that was attended by over fifty Chiefs. In a spate of bilateral meetings planned on the side-lines, I met the Hellenic Air Force Chief, Lt General Themistoklis Bourolias, who headed an air force that saw 80-100 fighter scrambles every month, against intruding Turkish Air Force aircraft. He readily accepted my invitation to visit India and within a few months he came over to discuss taking forward mutual cooperation. This resulted in the IAF taking part in the multi-lateral exercise Iniochos held every other year at Andravida air base.

In the same forum I also met the German Air Chief, (Inspector of the Air Force) Lt General Ingo Gerhartz with whom I bonded over WhatsApp chats and later had the chance to do a 1 vs 1 on Typhoons over the Baltic Sea! We discussed the feasibility of doing a joint exercise and after his brief visit to India, (where he only wanted to see our combat training institute, TACDE), he was convinced that we should move forward on the idea. The GAF was scheduled to take part in Ex Pitch Black in Australia and found it difficult to fly all the way to India for another exercise.

By now our squadrons had experienced multi-lateral exercises literally across the globe. In addition to those mentioned, the IAF also took part in Ex-Cobra Warrior in the UK, Ex Volfa in France and Ex Desert Eagle in UAE. I saw no reason why we could not conduct one of our own! At Air HQs we worked out a broad plan and presented it to the ministry and in no time we received the go-ahead for conducting the first multi-lateral exercise on Indian soil in over 60 years.

But the calendar for 2024 was fast filling up with many engagements for the Air Force. The year was to begin with Ex Vayu Shakti, the fire power demonstration, which in 2022 was cancelled on the last day due to the conflict having broken out in Ukraine. Then we had planned for Ex Gagan Shakti, an exercise involving the mobilisation and deployment of the entire Air Force as per the war plans. This ideally is done before the onset of summers, for a variety of reasons. We had already accepted participation in Ex Red-Flag, the premier, advanced multinational aerial combat training exercise hosted by the US Air Force in Alaska. This was the first time the IAF was to deploy its newly acquired Rafale aircraft to an exercise that saw crew from the US, UK, Singapore, Germany, and the Netherlands, participate. Added to this was the commitment to send a contingent to Australia for Ex Pitch-Black. As if it was not enough, following Vayu Shakti, an Army led tri-service exercise Bharat Shakti was planned at short notice.

Therefore, the window for conducting our first multi-lateral exercise had narrowed down to the month of September, when the monsoons would have abated. Ex Tarang Shakti was thus planned for early September and invitations were sent to all friendly foreign countries. Not surprisingly, we received a positive response from over twenty countries! Most were willing to come with their assets, while a few only wanted to come as observers.

Going back to my conversations with the German, French, Spanish and UK Air chiefs, they had all agreed in principle to take part, but the timing was not suiting them as Ex Pitch Black ran from July to early August. The answer was simple; split Ex Tarang Shakti into two phases, first one with the Europeans and the second with the others! It did not require much convincing and the Germans, French and Spaniards agreed to stop-by in India for the exercise, on their return from Australia. The first phase was re-worked to be held in Sulur near Coimbatore, for the convenience of the visitors, who ferried in from Malaysia. The joint formation was ferrying into our country was led by the IG of GAF, Ingo Gerhartz himself. To welcome them, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh (then the Vice Chief of Air Staff) got airborne in a Tejas and escorted them over the last 100 kms to Sulur! Phase 1 had the Eurofighter Typhoons (GAF and SAF), Rafales (FASF) pitted against our Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, M-2000 and Tejas aircraft, supported by A400 and A330 tanker aircraft.

After a successful 10-day exercise, we shifted to the deserts of Rajasthan for the next phase. The USAF, Hellenic Air Force, JASDF, Sri-Lankan AF, Australian AF, UAE Air Force and the Republic of Singapore AF participated with their assets, while 18 other countries sent their observers for the exercise. In this phase the aircraft types were more diverse and included the EA-18G Electronic Warfare aircraft (RAAF), F-16Cs (UAE AF and HAF), C-130, A-10 Warthogs (USAF) and the B200.

Alongside the flying exercise, the personnel of the visiting air forces were treated to yoga sessions, an open-day loaded with music, performances and of course Indian food! Apart from the many Chiefs of respective air forces, some countries were represented by senior military officers from the Army and Navy too. The Germans had come in strength, with many members of their parliament witnessing the exercise. A seminar on ‘Air Domain Awareness’ and an exhibition by Indian defence industries saw active involvement of all visitors.

A striking feature of all these exercises was the immaculate planning by the Ops staff at Air HQ, and the organisation of flying exercises and other activities by Command HQs. In all our ‘out’ exercises, the IAF boasted of nearly 100 per cent serviceability and despatch rate, thanks to the stupendous efforts of the maintenance teams.

As the IAF prepares for the second edition of Ex Tarang Shakti, my best wishes to all the participants for an enriching experience. Remember that such engagements not only enhance the learning from air combat exercises, but serve to strengthen our strategic partnerships.

Keep the flag flying high, IAF!