NEW DELHI: India is stepping up its military engagement with Southeast Asia under its Act East policy, with four Indian Air Force (IAF) Rafales training alongside Malaysian Su-30MKMs and F/A-18D Hornets near Kuala Lumpur, even as an Indian Army contingent prepares to travel to Thailand later this month for Exercise Maitree.
The two engagements, involving Indian fighter aircraft and ground troops, come within weeks of each other and underline the growing defence component of New Delhi’s engagement with Southeast Asia, a region central to its Act East policy and Indo-Pacific strategy.
Exercise Udara Shakti 2026 began at the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s (RMAF) Subang airbase on Monday and will conclude on Friday. The IAF has deployed four Rafales from 101 Squadron along with two C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlift aircraft from 81 Squadron.
The RMAF has fielded two Su-30MKMs from No. 12 Squadron, two F/A-18D Hornets from No. 18 Squadron and an A400M transport aircraft. A total of 83 personnel from the two air forces are participating in the five-day exercise.
The flying phase includes dissimilar air combat training, dissimilar basic fighter manoeuvres and air-to-air refuelling. The two air forces are also conducting subject matter expert exchanges on training doctrine and integrated operations.
The Malaysia deployment follows the IAF’s participation in Exercise Pitch Black in Australia, which concluded on August 7. The four Rafales that participated in the multinational air combat exercise have subsequently moved to Malaysia for Udara Shakti before returning to India.
The two C-17s accompanying the Rafale contingent are supporting the overseas deployment, allowing the fighters and personnel to be sustained during the extended deployment away from their home bases.
The Malaysia exercise also brings together fighters from different origins. The RMAF operates Russian-origin Su-30MKM fighters and US-made F/A-18D Hornets, while the IAF operates Russian-origin Su-30MKIs and French Rafales.
India and Malaysia have an additional defence-industrial link through the Malaysian Su-30MKM fleet. Indian companies have provided maintenance and technical support for the aircraft, while the two countries have been working to institutionalise cooperation through a bilateral Su-30 Forum.
Malaysia has also shown interest in the air-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, which is integrated with the IAF’s Su-30MKI fleet. India has already exported the ground-based BrahMos system to the Philippines. Multiple reports also indicate Malaysian interest in the air-launched missile have centred on its possible integration with the country’s Su-30MKM fleet.
The defence engagement with Malaysia comes against the backdrop of the wider security environment in Southeast Asia, where China has extensive maritime and territorial claims in the South China Sea, including overlapping claims involving Malaysia and other ASEAN countries.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army will deploy a contingent to Thailand later this month for this year’s edition of Exercise Maitree, the bilateral exercise conducted alternately by India and Thailand.
The previous, 14th edition was held at the Joint Training Node in Umroi, Meghalaya, in September last year.
This year’s exercise will be held in Thailand, marking the outbound leg of the alternating exercise. It will focus on company-level counter-terrorism operations in semi-urban terrain, with training covering joint planning, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, tactical drills and a 48-hour validation phase.
Maitree is one of India’s long standing Army exercises with a Southeast Asian partner. The exercise was instituted in 2006 and is held alternately in India and Thailand.