IAF to participate in 'Exercise Indra07' with Russia

An Indian Air Force contingent comprising 29 Air Warriors along with an IL-76 aircraft will participate in the ten-day-long Joint Indo-Russian 'Indra-07 Exercise' commencing next week at Pskov in Russia.

'Ex Indra-07' -- to be held from September 11 to 20 -- is an airborne exercise with the joint participation of the airborne forces of Russia, the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force and has counter-terrorism as its theme.

The Indian Air Force team led by Gp Capt SRK Nair will be participating in paradrop and other exercise maneuvers at Pskov near St Petersburg in Russia.

According to an official spokesperson in New Delhi, 'Exercise Indra-07' will give a further boost to the bilateral defence cooperation between India and Russia.

The exercise is also very important from the training point of view as the IAF contingent will get an opportunity to become familiar with Russian training aspects and understand the counter-terrorism

doctrine of the host nation.

The exercise also provides an opportunity to practice freefall techniques with the highly-experienced Russian diving team.

During 'Exercise Indra-05,' held in October 2005 in India, three IL-76s from Russia along with their airborne forces had participated. During this exercise, heavy drops and combat training were done by the participants.

'Exercise Indra-07' poses unique challenges for flying as the accuracy of drops is an absolute necessity for the success of such operations. The IAF crew will be maintaining accurate flying parameters while negotiating unknown terrains and changing weather conditions for the success of the operations.