Every fighter pilot's dream is to come to Red Flag. This is a very famous exercise. It helps to fly in a different environment, to fly away from home, to fly in what we call large force engagements. The exercise exposes our air force to different aircraft—aircraft we are not used to flying with and against.
— Air Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik, vice chief of air staff, Indian Air Force
Dream became reality for a large contingent of Indian Air Force personnel last August as they deployed eight Su-30MKI fighters to the United States to participate in Red Flag 08-4 exercises at Nellis AFB, Nevada. The deployment, a first for the Indian Air Force, reflects the warming relationship between India and the United States.
"The United States and India have been partners for a long time with a make-and-break relationship," said Air Marshal Naik, who visited his personnel at Nellis. "We have been close and far and close and far. I am very glad that we are in a phase of getting closer and closer together."
Lt. Gen. Loyd Utterback, USAF, commander of the 13th Air Force, also addressed the Indian contingent. "The USAF and IAF together form an incredible team," he said. "We have been planning to get the Indian Air Force team to Red Flag for some time. Our plans have now materialized—for peace and security in South Asia. I am looking forward to working with you more."
The eight Su-30MKI fighters from 20 Squadron, based at Lohegaon Air Force Station in Pune just southeast of Mumbai, represent the most modern fighters in the Indian Air Force. The Su-30s were accompanied to the United States by two Ilyushin Il-78 tanker aircraft from 78 Squadron of Agra Air Force Station in Agra (southeast of New Delhi) and one Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft from 44 Squadron based at Sonegaon Air Force Station in Nagpur in central India.
Before arriving at Nellis, the Indians completed a two-week work-up phase with the US Air Force at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, where they flew more than 100 sorties with F-15 pilots from the 366th Fighter Wing at Mountain Home and the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron from Eglin AFB, Florida, and with F-16 pilots from the 18th Aggressor Squadron at Eielson AFB, Alaska. The sorties consisted of air defense missions, offensive counter-air operations, large force engagements, and dynamic targeting. The flights familiarized the Indians with Western standards for communication and battle management.
Red Flag flying exercises formally began at Nellis on 10 August with initial briefings and mission planning by the participating air forces occurring the week before. The Indians were not the only international participants in Red Flag 08-4. The French Air Force brought four Rafales, and the Republic of Korea Air Force brought twelve F-15Ks. US participants included F-15s from the 125th Fighter Wing, the Florida Air National Guard unit at Jacksonville IAP; from the 85th TES at Eglin; and from the 65th Aggressor Squadron at Nellis. Participating F-16s came from Nellis's own 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron and 64th Aggressor Squadron.
Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. The exercise is conducted on the 15,000-square-mile Nevada Test and Training Range, north of Las Vegas. Red Flag is one of a series of advanced training programs administered by the US Air Force Warfare Center and the 414th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis.
The two-week exercise is held several times throughout the year. By integrating the participants into large strike packages and flying them against Red forces—highly trained adversaries flying F-15 and F-16 fighters—the realism of Red Flag is unmatched by any other exercise. Participating units complete several thousand sorties.
The simulated air war involved the IAF's Su-30 aircraft participating in a variety of roles but predominately in the suppression of enemy air defense missions.
Many of the IAF pilots were junior ranking officers identified and specially trained in India more than one year before being deployed to the United States for Red Flag participation. "The younger aircrews will stay in the fleet much longer than our senior pilots so that our air force will benefit from their Red Flag experiences and exposure for a longer duration," explained Group Capt. Ajay Rathore, exercise coordinator for the IAF. "They have done a marvelous job taking on this large responsibility."
The IAF pilots deployed to Red Flag represented more than themselves. They represented the entire Indian Air Force. "We want to exemplify the highest levels of professionalism," said Group Capt. Diptendu Choudhury, the team leader for the IAF. "We are acutely aware that everyone is watching us as we deal with different languages, platforms, and technologies. But we must still perform as part of a larger team. To that end, we have done exceedingly well."
The professionalism IAF pilots presented reflected well on the IAF. "The Indian Air Force is a world-class air force with great aircraft, great pilots, and great leadership," said Capt. Marcus Wilson, an Aggressor pilot at Nellis and the team chief for the exercise. "Red Flag afforded an excellent opportunity for the US Air Force and Indian Air Force to integrate our assets in a training environment. We would like to have the IAF back as a regular participant."
The prime minister of India set several national objectives for participating in Red Flag to reflect India's zone of influence increasing beyond its mainland. "We want to see if we are capable of projecting power over long distances," explained Naik. "We want to see if our logistic and administrative abilities could support such a large number of people so far away from home." IAF's success at Red Flag is ¬credited to the careful planning by a lot of people back home in India. "Red Flag allows us to evaluate how good we are in large force engagements with aircraft India does not operate," added Naik. "Overall, I am very satisfied with the results."
Eric Hehs is the editor of Code One.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
