Pak-China Joint Air Force Exercise 'Shaheen-5' Begins

By News Desk

China's air force on Saturday began joint training exercises with that of Pakistan, China's defence ministry said, as the two nations' militaries strengthen operational ties. The military drill, code-named “Shaheen (Eagle)-5” began on April 9 in Pakistan and will continue till April 30.
“China’s Air Force hopes to widen the scope of cooperation and dialogue with all countries and regions,” the Chinese Ministry of Defense statement said in a statement quoted by Reuters. 

 

As far as the composition of participating units, no details  where offered by Pakistani or Chinese side. Considering the respective components from the both sides in the previous exercises it is prudent that both sides will deploy front-line fighters along with force multipliers (AWACS and Air Refuelers).  The exercise will continue next three weeks.
Last year’s Shaheen-4, featured fourth-generation fighter jets and bombers as well as airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. The PAF alone participated with three different types of frontline fighter aircraft from different squadrons (likely the JF-17 Thunder, Dassault Mirage III/5, and F7 PG fighter aircraft).
The PLAAF and PAF have held Shaheen series exercises on regular basis since March 2011. The second training exercise took place in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in western China in September 2013, the third was held in Punjab, Pakistan, in May 2014.
Speaking to Reuters, the PAF second-in-command, Air-Vice Marshal Muhammad Ashfaque Arain, said that the PAF heavily relies on its fleet of around 70 U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets in its anti-terrorist operations in Pakistan. Whether any F-16 aircraft will participate in the training exercise is unknown. In February, the United States finally approved a possible of eight additional F-16 Block-52 fighters to Pakistan in a deal valued at $699 million.
Earlier, this Monday, the PAF also inducted 16 upgraded JF-17 Thunder Block II combat aircraft during a handover ceremony in Kamra, also known as Aviation City, the center of aircraft manufacturing in Pakistan. And now the chief of air staff, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman has said that Pakistan is going to produce 24 JF-17 Thunder fighters in 2016 after achieving the milestone of producing 16 in 2015.

Tactical Drones for Pakistan's Special Service Group (SSG)

This still taken from the official ISPR video footage of Pak-China joint exercise in Bahadur Range (Attock) shows COAS Pakistan Army Gen Raheel Sharif holding a UAV which indicates that special forces (SSG) are now adopting the deployment of tactical drones for real-time situational awareness during the ops. This force multiplying technology increases the odds of operational success many times while reducing the risk factor for own troops. This technology would be of great value in high risk operations in buildup areas and dense forest areas like Shweal valley of North Wazirstan Agency in FATA where Pakistan Army has launched the last leg of Operation Zarb e Azb.

ANALYSIS: Indradanush IV - Joint IAF- RAF Exercise

By Shahzad Masood Roomi

The British Royal Air Force's Eurofighter Typhoon and Indian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30MKI ‘Flankers’ came face to face during a successful major exercise, Indradanush, in UK. This was the 4th round of the exercise which first held in  India in October 2006. Last visit of IAF's Su-30MKIs was in 2007 when 6 of the IAF Su-30MKIs along with one IL-78 tanker were hosted by 25 Squadron of RAF based in Leeming.

In the latest edition of the exercise, which concluded on July 30th, IAF dispatched 4 MKIs from 2 Sqn ("Winged Arrows") based at Tezpur near India’s frontier with China. RAF Typhoon squadrons from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire represented RAF in the exercise.

Intensive flying operations from both IAF and RAF against each other was major highlight of the exercise.  According to Aviation Week, 10 IAF crews including 15 pilots and 5 weapon systems operators flew twice daily missions, often flying all four Su-30s on air-to-air training missions flying beyond visual range (BVR) and within visual range (WVR) engagements with the Typhoon.

The Flanker pilots were also deployed the thrust-vectoring control (TVC) “super-maneuverability” capability. For RAF pilots, this was something new and exciting. “This is fantastic. It’s the first time I’ve flown against a Flanker this morning and it’s fascinating to see another air force do its thing in a different aeroplane. Flying against an aircraft which is equally comparable to the Typhoon isn’t something we get to fight against on a regular basis in the UK.", Typhoon pilot Flight Lieutenant Mike Highmoor spoke shortly after his first encounter with the TVC equipped Su-30. 

Indian pilots used the yaw capability of the TVC to remain inside the tight turn radius of the Typhoon in order to keep the Typhoon in missile launch parameters, as reported by Aviation Week. It was also reported that RAF pilots also flew in rear cockpit seats of MKIs to get maximum experience of its flight profile.

According to RAF's Wg. Cmdr. Chris Moon, CO 3 (Fighter) Sqn, which led the exercise, said that the exercise was advanced in “crawl, walk, run approach” meaning the pilots from both the air forces were put in complex scenarios in a gradual manner. MKIs took on the Typhoons in 1vs1, 2vs1 and increasingly complex engagements.  During the last phase of exercise,  mission saw all four Flankers working with six Typhoons to escort and support two C-130J Hercules on a para-dropping mission. They were opposed by 8-10 red-air Typhoons.

The exercise also saw the use of an Indian C-17 and an Il-78 tanker aircraft. 

ANALYSIS:

The ultimate aim of every exercise is to mitigate the potential threats and Indradanush is no exception in that regard. RAF's Typhoon has physical characteristics similar to Chinese J-10 (Canards, Delta Wings) while IAF's SU-30MKI is undoubtedly the most advanced version of Russian Flanker fighters sans SU-35. RAF pilots witnessed the employment of Russian TVC technology in both complex BVR and WVR scenarios.

Keeping in mind the prevailing geopolitical tensions between China-India and Russia-NATO, this particular exercise offered huge learning curve for the fighter pilots of both the air forces to understand and study their opponents. The experience gained in this exercise is going to play a critical role for both the forces in mitigating very peculiar types of threats. i.e. J-10 for IAF, Russian Flanker for RAF.
 

India: A Drive to Become 'Blue Water Navy'

Indian Navy recently concluded its annual theater level exercise TROPEX-2015 in Indian Ocean. Two carrier groups, Viraat and Vikramaditya, were deployed simultaneously in different seas of the Indian Ocean. Total 50 ships and 70 aircraft took part in the exercise where Indian Navy's operational plans and a completely  digital inter-fleet communication were validated. Along with two air craft carriers, Indian Navy deployed almost every kind of Naval assets from Naval Aviation( Mig-29K, P-8I) to Anti-Submarine platforms (INS Kamorta) to Guided Missile Destroyers (INS Kolkata) and units of Indian Coast Guards as well. During the exercise, supersonic cruise missile Brahmos was also test fired from one of the Kolkata class destroyer. Mig-29K demonstrated various operations while Indian Naval satellite Rukmani has been described as 'pivotal in ensuring seamless connectivity between triad of surface, sub surface and air platforms of Indian Navy. 

   

ANALYSIS: 

Indian Navy has been striving hard for becoming a 'Blue Water Navy' and TROPEX-2015 is among major exercises where Indian Navy test its ability to perform different zones simultaneously, a fundamental requirement of any Blue Water Navy. Recently, Indian Government has announced to launch a $8 billion program to produce more ships for Indian Navy.

Interestingly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Maldives, Mauritius Seychelles and Sri Lanka during this month to reinforce India’s foreign policy objectives as well. Main aim of his visit is to use Indian maritime diplomacy in order to secure Indian interests in the these strategically located island nations of the Indian Ocean. China has made financial and maritime development overtures in Sri Lanka and Maldev which are being perceived by Delhi as a challenge to her own maritime security.