https://www.defensenews.com/training-si ... -exercise/
MELBOURNE, Australia — Indian Air Force fighter jets have made their first deployment to Japan to take part in the long-delayed exercise Veer Guardian.
The event, scheduled for later this month, will see four Indian Sukhoi Su-30MKI Flanker multirole fighters train with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
The aircraft landed this week at Japan’s Hyakuri Air Base, 80 miles north of the capital Tokyo. Two Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III airlifters and an Il-78 tanker accompanied the jets.
The C-17s transported personnel and equipment for the exercise, while the Il-78 provided refuelling support to the Su-30MKIs. The jets made transit stops in Thailand and the Philippines on their way to Japan.
According to a news release issued by the Japanese force, the Su-30MKIs are from the Indian Air Force’s No. 220 Squadron based at Halwara in the northern state of Punjab.
The Japanese participants at Veer Guardian will include the Mitsubishi F-2s of the 7th Air Wing and the F-15J Eagle interceptors of the Air Tactics Development Wing. The latter is the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s aggressor unit, which plays the role of the enemy during training.
Veer Guardian was originally scheduled for 2020, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Indian and Japanese air forces had carried out bilateral fighter training in 2019, code-named Shinyuu Maitri in India. Veer Guardian is the reciprocal training event in Japan.
This is a subscription only section
Want to read more? It's only €10/year.
No account yet? Just Create an account first and head to the shop
