IAF to showcase its strength at 'Vayu Shakti 2019'

The Indian Air Force will showcase its all-weather day-dusk-night operational capability at a major exercise in Rajasthan's Pokhran firing range close to the Indo-Pakistan border on Saturday, a Defence official said Thursday.

Numerous aircraft, including fighters, helicopters and force enablers will be participating in the exercise in the presence of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Defence Spokesperson Col Sombit Ghosh said.

The 'Vayu Shakti 2019' will showcase capabilities of various fighter aircraft such as Mirage-2000, Su-30 MKI, MiG 27, Juguar, Tejas, Hawk, MiG-21 Bison, Mi-17 V5, Mi-35 and ALH MKIV besides other platforms, he said in a release.

Prior to the exercise, a Full Dress Rehearsal (FDR) was conducted on Thursday in firing Range in the presence of Air Marshal Anil Khosla, Vice Chief of the Air Staff.

During the rehearsal, the IAF engaged numerous simulated enemy targets with various types of air-to-ground weaponry including guided and unguided bombs, rockets and guns.

Aerial targets were also intercepted using air-to-air as well as surface-to-air missiles.

The entire demonstration lasted two hours.