A 200-member Indian Air Force team and six Sukhoi-30 combat jets are set to travel to the United Kingdom this month to participate in the first joint air exercise in British airspace aimed at enhancing bilateral defence cooperation.
IAF, which will set off for the Royal Air Force airbase at Waddington on June 24, will take part in the Indradhanush-07 exercise slated to be held from July 2 to July 12.
Besides the Su-30MKI jets of IAF's Pune-based 30 Squadron, nicknamed the Rhinos, one IL-78 mid-air refueller will also participate in the exercise. Britain and India held their first joint air exercise in Gwalior last year.
The Il-78 will refuel the fighters taking a long ferry route with stopovers at Doha in Qatar and Tangara in Greece. The jets will reach Britain on June 28.
While the IAF will field the Su-30s, the RAF will use its Tornado, Hawk and Typhoon combat jets, VC-10 tankers and AWACS in the exercise.
Air Marshal K D Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the South Western Air Command, arrived at the Pune airbase on Friday and addressed the contingent at a parade before its departure on Sunday.
Group Captain Girish Saini is leading the IAF contingent as the exercise director, while Wing Commander A C Chopra is the deputy leader. Wing Commander Bharti will lead the 20 fighter pilots and two navigators, the latter also doubling up as weapon system operators in the Su-30s.
Before the exercise, the Su-30s and the Il-78 will participate in the Waddington Air Show to be held from June 30 to July 1. After the end of the exercise in Waddington, two Su-30s and the Il-78 will join the Royal Air Tattoo to be held at the RAF airbase in Fairford during July 16-18, a release said.