Article Posted on : - Oct 30, 2010

The Eurofighters are taking part in the joint aerial wargame. A file photo

NEW DELHI (PTI): British air chief Sir Stephen Dalton would be on a two-day visit to India to witness the ongoing friendly aerial wargames between the two countries.

India and United Kingdom are participating with their frontline fighter aircraft such as the Sukhoi-30MKI and the Eurofighter in the bilateral aerial exercise codenamed ‘Indradhanush’ which began on October 18 at the Kalaikunda air base in West Bengal and will conclude on November 3.

The Royal Air Force Chief will be visiting India from November 2 and 3 to attend the joint air exercise, a British High Commission statement said here.

The aim of the ongoing exercise is to enhance the cooperation between the two air forces and learn from each other's experiences.
India has for the first time fielded its recently-acquired Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) in any bilateral exercise along with Su-30 MKIs, Mirage 200s and the MiG 27s.

The Royal Air Force has also come up with its own AWACS named the E3-D Sentry and the VC-10 mid-air refuelling aircraft along with the Eurofighter Typhoons.

The ongoing exercise is the third of the Indradhanush series of wargames between the two countries. The first one was held in Agra and Gwalior in 2006 and the second one took place in the UK.