NEW DELHI:Putting an end to speculation that IAF fighter jets had outscored Royal Air Force at the recently held Indo-UK bilateral ’Indradhanush’ exercise held in the UK, the IAF came out with a clarification on Monday. “There are no classic wins and losses as no weapons are fired as per their actual capability,” an IAF release said.
The IAF reaction came in response to some reports that IAF pilots flying Su-30 Mki had a resounding 12-0 scoreline in their favour against Royal Air Force Typhoon jets in Within Visual Range (WVR) dogfighting operations.
According to the IAF, such exercises are conducted under controlled conditions with mutually agreed weapons performance parameters, with the basic aim of learning from each other’s best practices.
Additional advantages that accrue are greater understanding of each other’s general operational philosophy and exposure to a different operating environment.
In combat exercises, definite objectives are laid down for each participating component. After the exercise, during debriefing, a detailed analysis is carried out to assess the extent of achievement of laid down objectives. There are no classic wins and losses as no weapons are fired as per their actual capability, the IAF stated.
“Mutual exchange of ideas as regards operational philosophy for tactical and strategic missions has provided invaluable learning for both sides. The exercise provided an opportunity for the exchange of ideas relating to the concept of operations in a dynamic warfare environment,” IAF says. The fourth edition of Indradhanush was held in the UK from July 21-31 and a 190-strong contingent of IAF participated in it. The Indian Garud commandos participated in the exercise alongside their British counterparts, the RAF Regiment of the Special Forces.