The Indian Air Force (IAF) will display its full spectrum of combat and fire capabilities during Exercise Vayu Shakti-2024 in a “near-realistic scenario” at the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan on February 17, Vice Chief of Air Force Air Marshal A.P. Singh said. Rafale fighter jets and Prachand and Apache attack helicopters will be among those platforms that will take part in the exercise for the first time, he said.
“We plan to conduct Exercise Vayu Shakti to showcase the full spectrum of operations that Indian aerospace power can take on. In two hours, we would be dropping around 40-50 tonnes of ordnance in a one to two-kilometre radius,” Air Marshal Singh said, speaking to the media.
The exercise will be for 2 hours and 15 minutes during the day, at dusk and night, he said. The last edition of exercise Vayu Shakti was held on February 16, 2019. The exercise will also showcase joint operations with the Indian Army, officials said.
This year, the exercise will see participation by 121 aircraft, including the indigenous Tejas, Prachand and Dhruv. Other participating aircraft would include the Rafale, Mirage-2000, Sukhoi-30 MKI, Jaguar fighters, Hawk advanced jet trainers, C-130J transport aircraft, Chinook, Apache and Mi-17 helicopters. Indigenous Surface to Air Weapon systems Akash and Samar will demonstrate their capability to track and shoot down an intruding aircraft, the IAF said.
“Exercise Vayu Shakti will be a demonstration of the IAF’s capability to deliver weapons with long range, precision capability as well as conventional weapon accurately, on time and with devastating effect, while operating from multiple air bases,” the IAF said. Special operations by the IAF transport and helicopter fleets, involving the Garuds and Indian Army elements will also be on display, it added.
