Indo-Russian military exercise concludes in Pune

The Air Force component of 'Ex INDRA 19', a joint exercise between India and Russia, successfully ended on Thursday at the Air Force station in Lohegaon here.

As a part of the exercise, the Indian Armed Forces and their Russian counterparts undertook joint air, land and sea operations.

The tri-service exercise was conducted simultaneously at Pune, Goa and Gwalior, a defence release stated.

The exercise provided "operational exposure" and an opportunity to enhance the IAF's operational capability, "synergise joint operations" and improve interoperability with Russian Federation Air Force (RFAF) to operate under the UN mandate.

"Several airborne and ground assets of the IAF, including Su-30 MKI, Jaguar, Mirage-2000, indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas), IL-76, AEW&C, AN-32, Mi-17V5, indigenously developed Air Defense system AKASH and Air Defence radars, were used during the operation," the official release said.

The Russian Air Force contingent comprising 80 personnel from various branches, interacted with their Indian counterparts and shared their branch specific work experience, it stated.

During the closing ceremony, the chief guest Air Officer Commanding of the Air Force station, Air Commodore Rahul Bhasin V M congratulated all the participants for successfully completing the exercise.