Russian Air Chief on three-day visit to India

Press Information Bureau of India

As the Russian and Indian air forces get set for the Indian phase of Avia Indra-2014, Colonel General Viktor Nikolaevich Bondarev, Commander-in-Chief of Russia’s Air Force is in India on a three-day visit.

Bondarev, who inspected an Indian Air Force (IAF) guard of honour on arrival in Delhi yesterday, met senior defence and military officials in the Indian capital.The Russian air chief held a meeting with Indian Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha. On the meeting’s agenda was the grounding of India’s Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircrafts last month.  Raha had earlier said that the planes would be set to fly again this week.  During the Avia Indra-2014 exercise at the Halwara station in Punjab, the air forces will be using the Sukhois.

Bondarev will be visiting the National Defence Academy followed by a visit to the Su-30 Squadron, the Indian Defence Ministry said in a statement.  He will also visit the Air Force Academy at Hyderabad “to get a firsthand account of the training being carried out on the PC-7 Simulator and the Virtual Tower Simulator,” according to the statement. “He would also be interacting with Instructors and trainees at AFA.”