New Delhi, Feb 18:
Pokhran range near Jaisalmer reverberated with thunderous explosions and applause on Saturday, as the Indian Air Force showcased its offensive capabilities through an enthralling and formidable display of its firepower at exercise Vayu Shakti 2024.
The event began with three Chetak helicopters trooping the National Flag and the Air Force ensign, flying past the grand stand with the National Anthem playing in the background. This was followed by a perfectly timed ‘Sonic Boom’ created by a Rafale aircraft. Two Jaguar aircraft flying at low levels followed the Rafale, taking high fidelity reconnaissance images of the area, an official statement said here.
In keeping with this year’s theme of the exercise, ‘Lightning Strike from the Sky’, over 120 aircraft displayed the lAF’s offensive capabilities by day as well as by night.
Fighter aircraft of the IAF including the Rafale, Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Mirage-2000, Tejas and Hawk attacked and destroyed simulated enemy targets on ground and in the air with deadly precision.
These attacks were delivered in multiple modes and directions, employing a variety of Precision Guided Munitions as well as conventional bombs and rockets.
Upholding lAF’s firm commitment to ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, the indigenously built Tejas aircraft showcased its swing-role capability and destroyed an aerial target with a missile, followed by the engagement of a ground target with bombs.
Keeping up with the technological advancements in combat domain and the lessons learnt from recent conflicts, the lAF also displayed a long-range unmanned drone, which destroyed a simulated enemy radar site, with pinpoint accuracy. An IAF Rafale also successfully engaged an aerial target with a beyond visual range air-to-air missile.
Combat support operations by transport aircraft included a Containerised Delivery System drop by a C-17 heavy-lift aircraft and an assault landing by a C-130J carrying IAF Special Forces, Garuds.
The Apache attack helicopter demonstrated its firepower in this event for the first time, by engaging targets with air to ground guided missiles, while Mi-17 helicopters engaged ground targets with rockets.
Joint operations included the IAF and Indian Army’s weaponised version of the Advanced Light Helicopters Mk-IV devastating simulated enemy targets using their rockets and swivel guns.
As another first, IAF Chinook helicopters demonstrated rapid deployment of combat assets by airlifting the Indian Army’s M-777 Ultra-Light Howitzers in an underslung mode enabling prompt destruction of simulated enemy targets on ground.
