IAF's Mega Exercise

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is carrying out 'Exercise Aakraman' in the central sector with its mainstream fighter aircraft taking part in it, sources said on Thursday. However, this is a "routine exercise", a source said. India's frontline fighter jets include Rafales, Su-30s and other aircraft. Further details are awaited. The exercise is taking place at a time when the tension between India and Pakistan has gone up after the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.

The Indian Air Force will display its full spectrum of combat and fire capabilities during Exercise Vayu Shakti-2024 at the Pokharan range close to the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan on February 17. Fighter jet Rafale, Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand and Apache attack helicopters will be among the assets taking part in the exercise for the first time, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal A P Singh told reporters here. The triennial exercise will take place for 2.15 hours during the day, dusk and night, he said. "We plan to conduct this Exercise Vayu Shakti 2024 to showcase the full spectrum of operations that Indian aerospace power can undertake. And, it is going to be conducted in a near-realistic scenario," Air Marshal Singh said. More than 100 aircraft will participate in the exercise this year including support aircraft and stand-by assets on ground, he said. These will include all the new, indigenously manufactured or designed aircraft, such as 'Tejas', Advanced Li

The wargame being planned for April this year would see almost all the fleets of fighter aircraft, transport planes, helicopters and drones getting active along all the frontiers

Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa said over 11,000 sorties were carried out by combat, transport and rotary wing aircraft of the force to test its combat readiness