Ex Veer Gaurdian 2023: IAF and Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF)
India and Japan conducted joint Ex Veer Guardian 2023 at Hyakuri Air Base, Japan from 12 to 26 January 2023. The Indian contingent participated with four Su-30 MKI, two C-17 & one IL-78 aircraft, while the JASDF participated with four F-2 & four F-15 aircraft to promote Air Defence cooperation between the countries.
The two Air Forces engaged in complex and comprehensive aerial manoeuvres in multiple simulated operational scenarios. Exercise ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ provided the two Air Forces with an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding. The exercise also witnessed numerous ground interactions between IAF and JASDF personnel wherein various aspects were discussed by both sides.
This enabled the participating contingents to obtain an invaluable insight into each other’s best practices and learn from each other’s unique capabilities. Aircrew of the two participating Air Forces also flew in each other’s fighter aircraft to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s operating philosophies.
Exercise ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ provided the two Air Forces with an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding.
Ex Cyclone: Indo-Egypt Joint Training Exercise
The first ever joint exercise – Cyclone I – between the special forces of the Indian Army and the Egyptian Army was organized at Jaisalmer from 14 – 28 January 2023. The exercise focused on sharing professional skills and interoperability of Special Forces in desert terrain while undertaking counter terrorism, reconnaissance, raids and other special operations.
The 14-day exercise, which took place in Rajasthan’s deserts, aimed to improve special forces abilities like sniping, combat free fall, reconnaissance, surveillance, and target designation. It also encourages the exchange of knowledge about new weapons, gear, tactics, techniques, and procedures. Along with cooperative planning and training for Special Forces operations in a mechanized combat environment, the participants also conducted surgical strikes on terrorist camps and hideouts, including the shooting of High-Value Targets.
Ex Varuna 23: IAF and French Carrier Strike Group
Indian Air Force (IAF) and the French Carrier Strike Group (CSG), led by nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle, conducted the 21st edition of the bilateral Naval Exercise – Varuna – on the Western Seaboard near Bombay High on 16-20 January 2023.
The Southern Western Air Command participated with its frontline fighter jets Su-30MKI, Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) and the IL-78 Air to Air Refuelling Tanker. The French Navy participated with Rafale M and an E2C Hawkeye carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft.
The aim of the VARUNA joint exercise was to prepare the crews of these two Indian Ocean nations to face a variety of challenges together, mobilising their anti-surface, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft assets, as well as shared control of the air-sea environment and ship control. Replenishment at sea, increasingly complex air combat manoeuvres, and firing drills will complete these realistic operational scenarios.
This joint deployment in the Indian Ocean contributes to ensuring stability in this region in line with France and India’s shared approach of collective security based on respect for international law at sea and in the air. A major annual aero-naval event whose first edition dates back to 1983, VARUNA bears witness to the ability of the French and the Indian Navies to deploy and operate together and exemplifies the high level of trust between France and India.
Ex Tarkash: India-US Special Forces
Ex Tarkash involving the National Security Guard (NSG) and US Special Operations Forces (SOF) was conducted in Chennai from 16 Jan to 14 Feb. It included chemical and biological warfare threat scenario.
The most recent use of CBRN in the form of a sarin gas attack was witnessed in Syria in 2017 when more than 100 people died.
According to the UN, the prospect of non-state actors, including terrorists and their supporters, gaining access to and using WMDs or CBRNs is a “serious threat to international peace and security”.
The exercise was conducted in two phases; the first phase involved combat conditioning and tactical level special missions training exercises and the second phase included 48 hours of validation of training received by both contingents in the first phase.
Both contingents expressed immense satisfaction on the outcomes of the exercise, in terms of the standards achieved and sharing of best practices, when both contingents undertook joint training, planning and execution of a series of mock operations in simulated conventional and unconventional scenarios in mountainous terrain.
