Article Posted on : - Jun 01, 2010

Indian Su-30MKI will participate in the Garuda-IV exercise. A File Photo.

NEW DELHI (BNS): India and France will begin the joint air combat exercise ‘Garuda-IV ‘, from June 14 to 25 at Istres airbase in France, a media report said.

According to The Times of India, IAF will bring its six Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, two IL-76 heavy-lift aircraft and an IL-78 mid-air refueller at the joint air combat exercise.

The exercise comes at a time when India and France are all set to ink the around Rs 10,000 crore deal to upgrade the 56 Mirage-2000 fighter aircraft in IAF's combat fleet.

France will upgrade the first four to six Mirages and the rest fifty will be upgraded in India by Hindustan Aeronautics under transfer of technology, the report said.

The joint air exercise ‘Garuda’ was started in February 2003 at the Indian Air Base of Gwalior. The exercise commences biennially to foster relationship between both the countries.