Pokhran range near Jaisalmer reverberated with thunderous explosions and applause, on 17 February 2024, as the IAF showcased its offensive capabilities through an enthralling and formidable display of its firepower.
IAF Conducts ‘Exercise – Vayu Shakti-24’
Pokhran range near Jaisalmer reverberated with thunderous explosions and applause, on 17 February 2024, as the IAF showcased its offensive capabilities through an enthralling and formidable display of its firepower. Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. In keeping with this year’s theme of the Exercise, ‘Lightning Strike from the Sky‘, over 120 aircraft displayed the lAF’s offensive capabilities by day as well as by night. Fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force including the Rafale, Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas and Hawk.
Combat support operations by transport aircraft included a Containerised Delivery System drop by a C-17 heavy-lift aircraft and an assault landing by a C-130J carrying IAF Special Forces, Garuds. The Apache attack helicopter demonstrated its firepower in this event for the first time, by engaging targets with Air to Ground guided missiles, while Mi-17 helicopters engaged ground targets with rockets. Joint operations included the IAF and Indian Army’s weaponised version of the Advanced Light Helicopters Mk-IV devastating simulated enemy targets using their rockets and swivel guns.
IAF Chinook helicopters demonstrated rapid deployment of combat assets by airlifting the Indian Army’s M-777 Ultra-Light Howitzers in an underslung mode enabling prompt destruction of simulated enemy targets on ground. Garuds inserted by Mi-17 helicopters carried out an ‘Urban Intervention’ demonstrating their prowess in anti-terror/insurgency operations aimed at clearing hideouts of inimical elements.
The indigenous Air Defence Systems, Akash and SAMAR missile systems were also showcased, destroying multiple aerial targets.
Mega Exercises of IAF
IAF will host a mega exercise that is expected to bring together 12 global air forces, with the focus being on improving interoperability, imbibing best practices from one another and boosting military cooperation among the participating countries. Named Tarang Shakti, it will be the biggest multi-nation air exercise to be conducted on Indian soil and will involve fighter jets, transport aircraft, helicopters, mid-air refuellers, airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, and unmanned systems. This year IAF will also conduct its pan-India and the largest-of-its-kind exercise, Gagan Shakti, the officials said. In the 2018 edition of Gagan Shakti, the air force clocked more 11,000 sorties during the two-phase air manoeuvres that saw the concentration of the air force’s deployed assets move from the western sector to the eastern front in less than 48 hours.
