Jaisalmer: A total of 148 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will demonstrate their capabilities at Exercise Vayu Shakti that will take place at Pokharan range in Jaisalmer in March 07th, a senior official said. Rafale aircraft will participate in this exercise for the first time and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the chief guest, the IAF official noted. They will also hold a full dress rehearsal on March 04th.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajasthan governor, Kalraj Mishra, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, and more than 50 dignitaries from friendly countries will attend the event, strict security arrangements are being made. In the next 3-4 days the SPG squad will visit Jaisalmer. Jodhpur range I P Ramji will hold a meeting with police officials and review the security preparations. District collector Pratibha Singh took a stock of arrangements from the Air Force gate to Jodhpur Chunginaka and also inspected from Chandhan village to the firing range and gave necessary directions.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) conducts Exercise Vayu Shakti at the Pokharan range every three years to demonstrate its readiness to conduct full-spectrum operations. The last one took place in 2019. Out of 148 aircraft participating in the exercise this year, 109 will be fighter jets, the IAF official noted. Jaguar fighter jet, Sukhoi-30 fighter jet, MiG-29 fighter jet, Tejas fighter aircraft and various others will show their capabilities at Exercise Vayu Shakti 2022, the official mentioned. Capabilities of the Aakash missile system and Spyder missile system will also be shown at the exercise, the official said. Transport aircraft C17 and C130J will also participate in the exercise, the official mentioned.