Exercise Indradhanush (Hindi:Rainbow) is a joint air force exercise conducted by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

and the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

. The exercise is tasked to enhance mutual operational understanding between the two air forces via close interaction. The exercise started in 2006 and has held four editions so far. IAF Su-30MKIs and RAF Eurofighter Typhoons during Indradhanush exercise

IAF Su-30MKIs and RAF Eurofighter Typhoons during Indradhanush exercise

2006

The first edition of the exercise was held between 2–13 October at Gwalior Air Force Station in India.

2007

The second edition of the exercise was held at

RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington , commonly known as RAF Waddington, and informally known by its nickname 'Waddo' is a Royal Air Force station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, in England. The station is th ...

in United Kingdom. India was represented by air superiority fighter Sukhoi Su-30MKI's and a mid-air refueling tanker

Ilyushin IL-78 MKI The Ilyushin Il-78 (; NATO reporting name Midas) is a Soviet/Russian four-engined aerial refueling tanker based on the Il-76 strategic airlifter. Design and development The Soviet Union's first dedicated tanker aircraft were variants of pre ...

from No. 78 Squadron. United Kingdom was represented by Panavia Tornado's from the No. 25 Squadron based at

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or more simply RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 19 ...

and Eurofighter Typhoon's from No. 7 Squadron based at

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and h ...

2010

The third edition of the exercise was held between 18 October - 3 November at Kalaikunda AFS in India. India was represented by fighters Sukhoi Su-30 MKI's, Dassault Mirage 2000's, Mikoyan MiG-27's, a mid-air refueling tanker

from No. 78 Squadron and an AWAC

Beriev A-50 The Beriev A-50 (NATO reporting name: Mainstay) is a Soviet-origin airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft that is based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport plane. Developed to replace the Tupolev Tu-126 "Moss", the A-50 first flew in ...

from No. 50 Squadron, both based at Agra AFS. United Kingdom was represented by Eurofighter Typhoon's.

2015

The fourth edition of the exercise was held between 21–30 July at

and

RAF Brize Norton Royal Air Force Brize Norton or RAF Brize Norton is the largest List of Royal Air Force stations, station of the Royal Air Force. Situated in Oxfordshire, about west north-west of London, it is close to the village of Brize Norton and the tow ...

in United Kingdom. India was represented by four air superiority fighter Sukhoi Su-30 MKI's from No. 2 Squadron based at Tezpur AFS, one mid-air refueling tanker

from No. 78 Squadron based at Agra AFS, a military transport aircraft

Boeing C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) between the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previ ...

from No. 81 Squadron based at Hindon AFS and Garud commandos. United Kingdom was represented by sixteen Eurofighter Typhoon's from No. 3 Squadron based at

, an

Airbus A330 MRTT The Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) is a European aerial refueling and military transport aircraft based on the civilian Airbus A330. A total of 15 countries have placed firm orders for approximately 82 aircraft, of which 64 had ...

air refueling tanker, a

Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, Cockpit, flight deck, and other systems. The C-13 ...

transport aircraft and

RAF Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by Royal Warrant in 1942, the Corps carries-out security tasks relating to the protection of assets and personnel dedicated ...

paratroopers. The fighter jets operated out of

, the refueling tankers from

and the paratroopers from RAF Hunnington. The exercise saw multiple engagements including 1vs1, 1vs2, 4vs4, beyond visual range (BVR), within visual range (WVR), paradropping mission between the two air forces. There was some controversy regarding the final tactical results of the exercise.

References

{{reflist, 30em Indian military exercises Military aviation exercises

2006

2007

2010

2015

See also

References