French impressed with Su-30s
KALAIKUNDA (WB)
Feb 21 (PTI) The French Air Force team participating in Garuda III, a joint exercise here with their Indian counterparts, is impressed with the performance of the Sukhoi-30MKI comabt jet, particularly its vector controls.
"I saw the Su-30 twice, once in a photograph and the next time at an airshow. I am looking forward to sitting in its cockpit soon," Air Marshal Patrick de Roussiers, chief of the French Air Force's Air Defence and Air Operations Command, told a press confernece here.
Garuda III began on February 12 and will continue till February 23.
While the Indian Air Force has fielded its Su-30MKIs, Mirage 2000s and MiG-27s, the French are participating with Mirage-2000-5, an improved version of the jets flown by India, and Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.
Some members of the French team said they were most impressed by the vector controls of the Su-30, which enables it to suddenly reduce speed in mid-air when chased, thereby catching the enemy unawares.
Noting that AWACS would be inducted into the IAF next year, Air Marshal P K Barbora, Senior Air Staff Officer of the Eastern Air Command, said the presence of these aircraft in Garuda III gave Indian pilots an opportunity to study their functioning.
"It will be easier for our men to adapt when AWACS are inducted into the force. So over all, we can say that our experience was good," Barbora said.
Asked why the French did not field their multi-role Rafale fighter jets for Garuda-III, Rousiers said that it was being used in "real life situations".
"The Rafale is more mature now. We are putting all efforts to go to Afghanistan in the middle of March. We are hopeful, however, that we will be able to bring the Rafale for the next joint air excercise," he said.
According to Barbora, the IAF was as interested in exercising with the Rafale as the French were with the Su-30. "We have many things to learn from the Rafale," he said.
Asked whether India and France would hold any joint operations in the future, Rousiers said troops from both countries were already operating together in UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and Congo. There are many other areas in which the two nations could cooperate, especially for peacetime operations, he remarked.
"You must understand that there is defence cooperation and not for offence. At a time when the WTO is in place, each country has interests beyond its borders. In these times, the intention of the two air forces is to build cooperation betweeen one another," Barbora said.
To a question whether the IAF will hold similar exercises with neighbouring countries, Barbora said the exchange of officers and equipment was being done with Sri Lanka and relations were also being built up with the Chinese Air Force.
"To partner with Pakistan in an exercise, the situation must be conducive. The Bangladesh Air Force has not yet reached a level where an exercise can be conducted," he said.
Journalists visiting the Kalaikunda airbase were treated to a flypast and airborne exercises by Indian and French jets.