148 IAF aircraft, including Rafale, to participate in exercise Vayu Shakti

A total of 148 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will demonstrate their capabilities at Exercise Vayu Shakti that will take place at Pokharan range in Jaisalmer on March 7, a senior official said on Wednesday.

The Rafale aircraft will participate in this exercise for the first time and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest, the IAF official noted.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) conducts Exercise Vayu Shakti at Pokharan range every three years to demonstrate its readiness to conduct full spectrum operations. The last one took place in 2019.

Out of the 148 aircraft participating in the exercise this year, 109 will be fighter jets, the IAF official said.

The official added that 24 helicopters, seven transport aircraft and four remotely-piloted aircraft will also take part in the exercise on March 7.

IAF's fighter jets such as Jaguar, Sukhoi-30, MiG-29, Tejas, Rafale and Mirage-2000 will participate in this exercise, the official noted.

The event will begin with 17 Jaguar aircraft flying in a "75 formation", the official said.

It will end with three jets -- Rafale, Tejas and Sukhoi-30 -- conducting "transformer aerobatic display", the official noted.

IAF's helicopters such as Apache, Chinook, Mi17V5, Mi35, ALH MkIV and LCH will also take part in the March 7 exercise, the official said, adding that the event will begin at 10.30 AM and end at 12.30 PM.

The capabilities of Aakash missile system and Spyder missile system will also be shown at the exercise, the official said.

Transport aircraft C17 and C130J will also participate in the event, the official added.