Context

The Indian Air Force (IAF) and Royal Air Force (RAF) jointly commenced the fifth edition of Exercise Indradhanush at Air Force Station Hindan.

About

• It is a joint air force exercise conducted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) of United Kingdom and the Indian Air Force (IAF) being held since 2006.
• The exercise is tasked to enhance mutual operational understanding between the two air forces via close interaction.
• The theme of this edition of the exercise is ‘Base Defence and Force Protection’.
• This theme is of significance considering the recent threats to military establishments from terror elements.
• The RAF team include 36 specialised combatants of the RAF Regiment, whereas the IAF team comprises of 42 combatants of the GARUD Force.
• Other joint exercises between India and UK are 
  • Exercise Konkan: It is an annual maritime bilateral exercise between Indian Navy and the Royal Navy of Britain.
  • Exercise Ajeya warrior: It is a joint military exercise between India and the UK. It was held for the first time in 2013.

Significance

• Indradhanush will allow the IAF and RAF to strategise and share information, as well as learn from each other’s operational experience.
• Through this exercise, the two airforces can plan scenarios and train on tactics to counter terror threats and protect their installations.
• the forces will share their training philosophies and best practices along with contemporary technologies.