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

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.