Four Rafale fighter jets of the Indian Air Force landed at the 117th Fighter Wing in Andravida to participate in joint training with the Greek Air Force.
India's Rafales participated for the first time in the major US-held air exercise 'RED FLAG 24' and are returning to their country. The Indian Air Force not only chose Greece as a stopover on its long return journey but also decided to take advantage of the opportunity to conduct joint exercises.
Instead of landing at Andravida for a few hours to refuel and continue on their way home, the Indian Rafales will remain and fly alongside fighter jets of the Greek Air Force in a series of exercises over the Ionian Sea.
Large areas within the Athens Flight Information Region have already been reserved, and the co-training will include flights over the weekend.
The joint exercises continue the military cooperation that has developed between Greece and India in recent years. The excellent political and military relationship, sealed during the recent visit of the Greek military chief, General Dimitrios Houpis, to India seems to have already had substantial results.
As revealed by On Alert, in August, F-16 block 52+ Adv fighters from the 336th Fighter Squadron "OLYMPOS" will fly to India to participate in the large multinational exercise "Tarang Shakti 24".
This is the largest air exercise organised by the Indian Air Force, and 52 countries, including the US, France, Italy, and Germany, are expected to participate either with air assets or observers.
The Greek Air Force's participation in "Tarang Shakti 24" (Wave of Power) was confirmed during the visit to India by the Chief of Defence Staff, while the Air Staff had been in constant contact with the Indian Air Force. Greece was among the first to be invited to participate in the great aviation event.
For the Greek F-16s, the long journey of about 3,000 kilometres from the 116th Fighter Wing Air Base to the Jodhpur Air Base in the Rajasthan province in northwest India, relatively close to the border with Pakistan, will be another participation in a large multinational exercise outside of Greece.
The beginning was made last year with the impressive participation of the Indian Air Force in the large multinational exercise "INIOCHOS 23". The imposing Su-30MK fighters, which landed at the 117th Fighter Wing, left a great impression with their impressive presence.
Although the Indian Air Force's participation in exercises outside the country is rare, Delhi wanted this move to send a resounding message of military cooperation with Athens and the Greek Armed Forces in response to the axis that has developed between Pakistan and Turkey.
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