By Amrit Prakash
Sulur (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 6 (ANI): The Indian Air Force began its first-ever multinational exercise on its own soil ‘Tarang Shakti 2024’ in Sulur, Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.
At the beginning of the exercise, homegrown LCA Tejas fighter being flown by Air Marshal AP Singh intercepted German, French, and Spanish contingents taking part in the wargames.
The Royal Air Force is also taking part in the air exercises with the Indian Air Force.
It’s the first phase of Tarang Shakti continuing in Sulur, Tamil Nadu, from August 6 to 14, and the second will be in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, from August 29 to September 14.
The Chief of the Indian Air Force participated on the first day of the aerial exercise along with his German counterpart Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz. Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari greeted and welcomed Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, the commander of the German Air Force, along with his team.
Indian Air Force’s LCA Tejas, Mirage 2000, and Rafale are taking part in this mega exercise which aims to strengthen strategic relationships with “our friends from the international community.
Taking to ANI about Exercise Tarang Shakti 2024, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said, “It is a huge feather in our cap that we have been able to organise an exercise of such a huge scale in India. We have been carrying out bilateral exercises with many countries over the years and this is the first time we are doing a multilateral exercise of this scale. It’s a challenge and Air Force and all participants have lived up to the challenge…”
Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz German Air Force Chief began the exercise saying ‘Namaste’. He thanked Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari for the warm welcome in India.
Further, he added, “It’s a long way from home but we feel like being at home here. It’s the first time ever that the German Air Force is flying an exercise here in India. Tarang Shakti is especially for the three nations France Spain and Germany part of the bigger deployment. It’s our fifth exercise and I’m sure it will be the best. For the German Air Force, it’s the biggest and most complex deployment we have ever done but it’s much more than doing a military exercise it’s partnering around the globe. The Indian motto is ‘We’ll touch the sky with glory’.
German Ambassador to India Dr Philipp Ackermann while talking to ANI said, “It’s fantastic. We are happy to join the Indian Air Force in its motto of ‘Touch the Sky With Glory’. This is the first time the German Air Force flies with the Indian Air Force in India… For us, it’s the first but not the last and we will be conducting exercises in the future.” “We have a frigate in October coming to Goa. This shows our growing engagement in the region and our growing strategic military partnership with the Republic of India and we are proud of it,” he added. (ANI)
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