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Indian Air Force personnel discuss emergency fuel shutdown procedures with a U.S. Air Force member.
Photo by TSgt. Keith Brown, USAF |
Dissimilar Air Combat Training
Residents living in the nearby city of Gwalior are accustomed to the sounds of fighter-jet operations – the noise of takeoff, landings and sonic booms. But the roar of USAF F-15 Eagle aircraft in the sky above this north central IAF station was something completely new. The F-15s flew with a variety of IAF aircraft for two days of familiarization flights before engaging in dissimilar air combat training between two different aircraft.
Following the familiarization flights, the F-15s joined the Indian SU-30K Flanker, Mirage 2000, MiG-29 Fulcrum, MiG-27 Flogger and MiG-21 Bison aircraft in a series of offensive counter-air and defensive counter-air engagements. Each engagement series lasted about 30 minutes over the nearby training range, with two series scheduled each flying day. During nearly all the mock combat sorties, the F-15s protected ground targets against advancing Indian aircraft. The F-15s then swapped roles to act as the aggressor aircraft for one air engagement series.
Combined pre-flight briefings had set the stage and post-flight briefings evaluated the scoring for each engagement. “The U.S. Air Force has never flown with or against the SU-30 Flanker before, so that aspect of this exercise is completely new for us,” said Capt. Snowden. “It’s very encouraging and positive to fly with the IAF as partners. We’ve found that, by and large, their procedures are similar to ours, but the names and exact details may be a bit different.”
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Indian Air Force officers tour a U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle at Gwalior AFS during the exercise.
Photo by TSgt. Keith Brown, USAF
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Indian Air Force Sqdn. Ldr. Ajmer Singh Hundal waits at Gwalior AFS for the arrival of the first two U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagle aircraft.
Photo by TSgt. Keith Brown, USAF |
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