Japan and India to conduct first-ever air combat exercises

A joint air combat exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) will be held this year, the first of its kind between the two countries.

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According to The Senkei News, it was revealed on August 22 that the IAF and JASDF will conduct joint training exercises, the novelty of which is that it will be the first time that Japanese pilots will be tested against Russian-designed fighter jets.

This round of joint training was planned for June of last year, but the plans were truncated due to the effects of Covid 19. Another attempt was made in July of this year, but the advent of the Delta variant again postponed the meeting. The idea now is to hold them before the end of the year.

Third time’s the charm?

Joint training between the Air Self-Defense Force and the Indian Air Force began in December 2018, with training on transport aircraft. The JASDF sent a Kawasaki C2 transport aircraft of the 3rd Air Transport Corps from Miho Base (Tottori Prefecture) and 20 members to Agra Air Force Base in India, and conducted flight training and crew exchanges with the IAF’s Boeing C-17 transport aircraft.

In October 2019, the JASDF sent a C130 transport aircraft to Argen Singh Air Force Base in India for formation flying training. This paved the way for regular joint training, and the JASDF and the Indian Air Force decided to raise the level of training content and conduct, now yes, air combat exercises between the two nations’ main fighters.

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For the first cancelled exercise, India was to send its Su-30MKIs to engage F-15Js from the Komatsu base (Ishikawa prefecture). And for the training that was expected to take place in July, the Indian Sukhoi were to face Mitsubishi F2s at Hyakuri base (Ibaraki prefecture).

A different opportunity for the JASDF

In the combat exercise to be held sometime during the remainder of the year, pandemic permitting, India will contribute 6 Su-30MKI heavy fighters, but it is not yet known against which Japanese aircraft the IAF airmen will train.

For JASDF personnel, this training will be especially important, as so far they were only measured against Western aircraft from the U.S., U.K. and Australia. It will be the first time that Japanese machines and pilots will be engaged in simulated combat against fighters analogous (the J-11 and J-16) to those used by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force, or PLAAF.