The Indian Air Force (IAF) will carry out its biggest exercise over Punjab and the Thar desert in Rajasthan from September 4 to 27. "The exercise Gagan Shakti is aimed at testing IAF's integration of new sensors and weapon systems and to validate new strategies that have been developed to address contemporary threats," IAF spokesman Wing Commander, Mahesh Upasani was quoted as saying here.
IAF's frontline fighter aircraft and mutli-role combat aircraft SU-30MKI, Mirage-2000, deep penetration strike planes Jaguars and recently-acquired IL-78 mid-air refuellers will undertake air-to-air and air-to-ground manoeuvres during the 23-day exercise over the Western and South Western Air Commands.
The spokesman said to validate the IAF's new war doctrine, the exercise will also witness the forces' space-based assets and operational networks, simulating a real time operational scenario.
IAF has for the past few years been participating in bilateral exercises with foreign air forces, but for the first time in last seven years, this 'Gagan Shakti' would purely be an IAF exercise, the report said.