Air Force Chief to hold talks with senior military leadership in US

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, today left on a four-day visit to the United States where he is scheduled to hold talks with senior military leadership and discuss a wide range of bilateral issues on the ongoing defence cooperation between the two countries.

Air Chief Marshal Raha, who is visiting USA on the invitation of General Mark A. Welsh III, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force (USAF), will also call on Indian Ambassador Arun Singh at Washington.

The itinerary also includes a conducted tour of airbases under Special Ops Command and a visit to the Combined Air Operations Centre at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where he would be briefed on the Indian Air Force's participation in multi-lateral Air Exercises.

In recent years, there have been close and frequent contacts at political and military levels between the two countries.

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha's visit to the US would further boost bilateral relations between the two Air Forces and is likely to provide greater convergence at the operational level.