Signifying close Defence ties between two countries, three French Rafele jets along with support aircraft stopped for a day at an IAF airbase and flew out after refuelling on Thursday. The French contingent is carrying out a major long range mission in Indo-Pacific codenamed Pegase 22.
The stop over and refuelling operation at IAF airbase in Sulur near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu demonstrated a high level of mutual trust and interoperability between French and Indian Air Forces, which has been further boosted by fact that both Air Forces now fly Rafale jets.
It also illustrated concrete implementation of the reciprocal logistics support agreement signed by France and India in 2018, the French Embassy said here. Lauding IAF’s role in this successful operation, the Ambassador of France to India Emmanuel Lenain, said: “France is a resident power of Indo-Pacific, and this ambitious long-distance air power projection demonstrates our commitment to the region and our partners.
It is only natural that to carry out this mission, we rely on India, our foremost strategic partner in Asia. My heartfelt thanks to Indian Air Force for welcoming the French contingent.”
Giving details of the operation, French officials said from August ten to September 18, the French Air and Space Force is carrying out a major long-range mission in Indo-Pacific, code-named Pégase 22. The first stage of this mission aims to demonstrate France’s capacity for long-distance air power projection by deploying an Air Force contingent from metropolitan France to the French territory of New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean in less than 72 hours (10th-12th August).
To achieve this unprecedented 16,600-km deployment, the Air Force contingent made a technical stopover in India, at Air Force Station Sulur. The contingent comprises three Rafale jets and support aircraft. Landing at Air Force Station Sulur on August ten evening, it flew out in the early hours of Thursday after refuelling, en route to New Caledonia.
In the following stages of Mission Pégase 22, the French Air Force contingent will take part in the “Pitch Black” air exercise taking place in Australia from August 17 to September 10. The Indian Air Force will also participate in this multilateral drill, along with Australia, Japan, United States, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore, United Kingdom, and South Korea.
