The Pogonovo fighting ground near Voronezh hosted one of the main events of the Avia Indra 2014 Russian-Indian exercises on Tuesday, September 2. The joint Russian-Indian crew flew the Mi-35 and Mi-8, as well as the Su-30 CM. Helicopters brought down several thousands of litres of water to the firing ground, practicing fire-fighting, and the fighters hit the ground targets with missiles and bombs.
“The Indian Air Force is not involved in counter-terrorism operations. Their main task is to provide combat support to troops. Therefore, we have chosen operational and tactical aviation exercises at the fighting grounds and practicing of special Army Aviation missions,” said Colonel Alexander Maksimtsev, deputy chief of the Russian Air Force. “This involves interception of air targets, fire-fighting, search and rescue operations and support of ground forces. The Indian Air Force has a lot of experience in the highlands. We are interested to learn about the methods of their work.”
The second phase of the exercises will be held in India in November 2014. “Russia and India have historical Air Force connections,” Indian Air Force Commander Praveen Keshav Vora said. “We are using the Russian equipment from the sixties: MiG-21, MiG-23 and Su of various types. We have similar methods, because our technique is the same. We are carrying out these exercises for the first time and expect that they will serve as the basis for the development of our mutual cooperation. At first glance, this stage went very well, but we will discuss everything in detail when we get back to the base.”
04/09/14 Mikhail Suprunenko/Russia & India Report
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“The Indian Air Force is not involved in counter-terrorism operations. Their main task is to provide combat support to troops. Therefore, we have chosen operational and tactical aviation exercises at the fighting grounds and practicing of special Army Aviation missions,” said Colonel Alexander Maksimtsev, deputy chief of the Russian Air Force. “This involves interception of air targets, fire-fighting, search and rescue operations and support of ground forces. The Indian Air Force has a lot of experience in the highlands. We are interested to learn about the methods of their work.”
The second phase of the exercises will be held in India in November 2014. “Russia and India have historical Air Force connections,” Indian Air Force Commander Praveen Keshav Vora said. “We are using the Russian equipment from the sixties: MiG-21, MiG-23 and Su of various types. We have similar methods, because our technique is the same. We are carrying out these exercises for the first time and expect that they will serve as the basis for the development of our mutual cooperation. At first glance, this stage went very well, but we will discuss everything in detail when we get back to the base.”
04/09/14 Mikhail Suprunenko/Russia & India Report
