‘Veer Guardian 23': India, Japan to conduct first-ever air combat exercise

New Delhi, December 22

India and Japan are set to conduct their first-ever bilateral combat air exercise over 10 days in Japan next month.

The exercise named ‘Veer Guardian 23’ will be conducted from January 16 to January 26. The Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) will conduct a bilateral fighter training with the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The exercise aims to promote mutual understanding and strengthen defence cooperation between the air forces.

IAF will be fielding its Russian-origin Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft drawn from a squadron under the Western Air Command. The IAF 150 crew will be flying in IAF’s C-17 transport aircraft. The fighter jets on their journey from India to Japan will be re-fuelled mid-air using the IL-78 planes of the IAF.

Japan will field its F-2 jets which are derivatives of the F-16 plane of the US. It will also field the F-15, like the oones used by the US too.

The exercise will at Hyakuri Air Base north-west of Tokyo.