Amid Ukraine-Russia crisis, India pulls out of multi-nation air exercise in UK
India Today
The Indian Air Force has decided not to deploy its combat jets in a multilateral air exercise in the UK next month in view of the situation arising out of the crisis in Ukraine.
India has decided not to deploy its combat jets in a multi-nation air exercise in the UK next month amid the Ukraine-Russia crisis. The Indian Air Force will not deploy its aircraft for Exercise Cobra Warrior 2022 in the UK. The Air Force was to send five LCA Tejas fighter aircraft for the exercise. Air Forces of the UK, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the US are part of the exercise.
The exercise was to take place from March 6 to 27. There was a possibility of the exercise being completely called off as well.
The exercise was aimed at providing operational exposure and sharing best practices amongst the participating air forces, thereby enhancing combat capability and forging bonds of friendship. "This will be a platform for LCA Tejas to demonstrate its manoeuvrability and operational capability, an official statement had earlier said.
Recently, India's indigenously manufactured Tejas participated in the Singapore air show. India is showcasing Tejas as a potential export item.
The LCA Tejas, indigenously-designed by the Aircraft Development Agency (ADA) of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), is expected to be the backbone of the Indian Air Force in the future, as the mantra is self-reliance through reduced imports.
