Indian Air Force personnel arrives in Russia for Air Force Drills

Photo -  Yevgeny Yepachintsev

A Russian Su-30SM fighter parked at Pogonovo and Ashuluk testing ranges 

Indian troops have arrived in Russia’s Lipetsk to take part in the joint Air Force exercise Aviaindra 2014, held August 25 to September 5, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Igor Klimov told the press Monday.“From August 25 to September 5, 2014 a joint Russian-Indian exercise Aviaindra 2014 will be held on the Russian territory under the Air Force commander-in-chief’s leadership. The official starting date of the drills is August 29, 2014. Before that, the Indian pilots will examine the areas of the upcoming flights and practice piloting skills on modern simulators in the Lipetsk State Aviation Center, while anti-aircraft personnel will familiarize with anti-aircraft missile systems in the Air Force Training Center in Gatchina [Leningrad Region],” Klimov said.

The drills’ scenario involves joint flights with mixed Russian-Indian crews on Su-30 SM “Flanker-C” aircraft, Mil Mi-35 “Hind E” and Mi-8 “Hip” helicopters at Pogonovo and Ashuluk testing ranges in the Voronezh and Astrakhan regions respectively. Su-30 SM “Flanker-C” crews will also carry out air refueling from the Ilyushin Il-78 “Midas” aerial refueling tanker while the mixed anti-aircraft teams will repel a simulated aggressor’s attack with the S-300 (SA-10) “Grumble” and S-400 (SA-21) “Growler” anti-aircraft systems, the Buk-M1 “Grizzly” surface-to-air missile system and the Pantsir-S1 (SA-22) “Greyhound” surface-to-air missile/anti-aircraft artillery systems.

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