New Delhi, 27 Aug : The Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed five MiG-29 combat jets, six transport aircraft and a group of its Special Forces personnel at a 21-day multilateral war game in Egypt that began on Sunday. The biennial tri-services exercise, Bright-Star, is taking place at Cairo (West) Air Base and it is being participated by militaries of the US, Saudi Arabia, Greece and Qatar besides of the host country and India, officials said. It is for the first time that the IAF is participating in the exercise. The IAF contingent will consist of five MiG-29, two IL-78, two C-130 and two C-17 aircraft. Personnel from the IAF’s Garud special forces, as well as those from the Numbers 28, 77, 78 and 81 squadrons will be participating in the exercise, the IAF said. Around 150 Indian Army troops are also part of the Indian contingent. The exercise’s goal is to practice joint operations planning and execution, the IAF stated in a statement.
Aside from fostering cross-border bonding, such interactions also provide a means to advance strategic relations between participating nations, it stated. It stated that India and Egypt have had an exceptional relationship and deep cooperation in which the two jointly undertook development of aero-engine and aircraft in the 1960s and Indian counterparts trained Egyptian pilots.
