Four IAF Rafale jets and two Sukhoi-30MKI jets flying in a formation. (Photo IAF)
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force will be conducting yet another command-level combat air exercise in the Eastern Air Command with an eye on the China front from February 1, defence officials said, on Friday. This is the second such exercise the IAF is undertaking since Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops clashed at the Yangtse area in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector, on December 9.
This time, however, the drill will be a five-day event. Last time, the exercise was conducted for two days in December 2022.
Read also: Amid fresh LAC tension with China in Tawang, IAF conducts drill in NE
The officials said all major airbases in the Eastern Air Command will be activated during the combat air drill. All major IAF platforms, including fighter jets, transport aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles will be deployed during the exercise.
Read also: ‘China unilaterally tried to change status quo in Arunachal’s Yangtse’
During the December exercise, Assam’s Chabua, Jorhat, Tezpur airbases and West Bengal’s Hasimara were activated. The IAF’s frontline fighter jets, like Rafale and Sukhoi-30MKI, took part. Apart from these fighters, a range of transport aircraft and combat helicopters also participated.
Hasimara airbase is home to the newly acquired Rafale warplanes.
