JAISALMER: Many sorties of Rafale and Sukhoi were organized as part of the Indo-French joint exercise ‘Desert Knight-21’ in Jodhpur on Friday.
Mid-air refilling of Rafales, Su-30s and Mirage was also part of the exercise. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat flew French multi-role transport aircraft (Airbus-330) and witnessed the exercise. CDS Rawat also visited Jodhpur Air Force Station. He interacted with both the contingents and complimented the synergy and interoperability achieved between the two forces.
Indian Airforce chief Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadoriya will reach Jodhpur on Saturday to review the ongoing exercise.
Official sources said that Rawat took part in the war exercise on Thursday. He experienced the thrill of fighter flight in France's multi-role tanker transport A330 along with French Air Force team commander Major General Laurent Lherbette. He was accompanied by South Western Command Air Commanding Chief Air Marshal S K Ghotia and other Army, IAF and French Air Force senior officers.
CDS Rawat said that he also flew in a French multi-role transport aircraft (Airbus-330) in which they can ferry passengers, do mid-air refueling and convert it into a medical facility for medical emergencies. We also saw how our Rafales, Su-30s and Mirages were refueling from it. tnn