After a long journey across the Middle East, Mediterranean, Europe, Atlantic Ocean and United States, a contingent of eight Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighters, two Ilyushin IL-78MKI tanker aircraft, and one Ilyushin IL-76MD transport from the Indian Air Force (IAF) descended on Mountain Home Air Force Base (AFB) near Boise, Idaho on July 17th.
The IAF’s most modern fighters have come at the invitation of US Air Force to participate in a multinational Red Flag air combat exercise, to be held at Nellis AFB in August. Prior to Red Flag, the IAF is spending a few weeks at Mountain Home to hone its combat skills and adjust to USAF operating procedures. While in Idaho, the Sukhois are flying with F-15 Eagles of Mountain Home’s resident 366th Fighter Wing and the F-16s of the 18th Aggressor Squadron from Eielson AFB, Alaska.
It was a moment of sheer amazement for me and other photographers at Mountain Home AFB when the Sukhois and the Ilyushins arrived. Not just the photographers were thrilled to share the same ground as these advanced Russian aircraft. Even the US Air Force pilots who greeted the Indian contingent were excited by their presence and amazed at the size and height of the Sukhoi fighters. Both the "tigers" and their "cubs" from the 391st Fighter Squadron "Bold Tigers," and the "boars" and their "piglets" from the 390th FS "Wild Boars," were eagerly looking forward to flying with the Indians.
The IAF contingent is led by Group Captain Diptendu Choudhury and Exercise Director Group Captain Ajay Rathore. Other members of the contingent are veterans of previous international deployments, where they took part in similar joint exercises with the respective nations’ air forces.
Commenting on the IAF’s journey to North America, Group Captain Rathore said. "It couldn’t have been better. Everything went smoothly. We left Pune on July 6th, and the first stop was Doha in Qatar. Then onto Chorlu in Turkey, with our next stop being Mont de Marsan in France, and onto Lajes Military airfield in Portugal. Our landfall in the mainland USA was at Bangor, Maine. The last leg of the journey was flying from Bangor to Mountain Home. There was one air-to-air refuelling on every leg, and two over the Atlantic Ocean."
The SU-30 MKI fighters are from No.20 "Lightnings" Squadron, based at Lohegaon Air Force Station, Pune. The tankers are from No.78 "Valorous MARS" Squadron, based at Agra Air Force Station, Agra. (MARS stands for "Mid-Air Refuelling Squadron.") The transport aircraft is from No.44 "Mighty Jets" Squadron, at Sonegaon Air Force Station, Nagpur.
The "Fourty-Fours"are pioneers in many fields of military air transport operations, both in India and abroad. The squadron was formed on April 6, 1961, with the Antonov AN-12, a four engine heavy-lift turboprop aircraft. The Squadron was later equipped with the Ilyushin IL-76MD strategic heavy transport in March 1985. No. 44 Squadron is the only squadron with such a capable aircraft in the region. The Squadron has undertook all kinds of airlift operations in the most inhospitable terrain, both in India’s North East and J&K sectors and for disaster relief operations in Southeast Asia. The squadron is led by Group Captain Gosewade.
The "Seventy-Eight" are the pioneers of air-to-air refueling operations in the Indian Air Force. The youngest squadron in the IAF, it was formed at Agra on December 16, 2002. Its first IL-78 aircraft arrived in March 2003 and all six were operational by December 2004. Three aircraft can be refueled in-flight simultaneously from one Il-78. The IL-78 is equipped with one refueling pod under each wing and a third on the port side of the aft fuselage. An operator controls the hose and drogue systems from the tail gunner’s position. According to the squadron’s oldest serving officer and third Commanding Officer, Group Captain Sanjeev Kapoor, "We have participated in numerous international exercises before now – for example, Cope Thunder in Alaska in 2004, Exercise Golden Eagle in South Africa in 2004, Exercise Garuda II in France in 2005, Exercise Sindex in Singapore in 2006, and Exercise Indradhanush in the United Kingdom in 2007."
The Sukhoi Su-30 MKI (M=Improved, K=Export, I=India) aircraft was formally inducted into No.20 "Lightnings" Squadron on September 27, 2002. No. 20 Squadron reached 50 years of service in 2006; having started with the indomitable de Havilland Vampire, it now flies one of the most technically advanced weapons platform in the world. The "Lightnings" are one of the most decorated squadrons in the Indian Air Force, having won medals for bravery and received Mentions-in-Dispatches in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan wars.
About the IAF’s initial work-up at Mountain Home AFB, Wing Commander George Thomas, CO of No.20 Squadron, said, "We mostly fly in a similar way in India, but the radio terminology and jargon the USAF uses are different. The work-up phase will get us ready for the US flying environment." When asked how the IAF contingent views its participation in Red Flag, Wing Commander Thomas replied, "It will be a huge learning experience for everyone in the team. We are looking forward to it."
Arriving on the same day as the Indians were F-15C and F-15E Eagles from 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, 53rd Test and Evaluation Group at Eglin AFB. The 53rd TEG executes operational test and evaluation and tactics development and evaluation projects assigned by Air Combat Command for combat aircraft. The 53rd TEG will also participate in Red Flag in August, taking full advantage of this opportunity to learn more about the Su-30 and its capabilities.
The 18th Aggressor Squadron deployed from Eielson AFB to support the IAF deployment. Eight of its F-16s arrived at Mountain Home on 18 July, supported by KC-10 and KC-135 tankers. Formed on 24 August 2007, the 18th AGRS prepares joint and allied aircrews for air combat. "The USAF Aggressors are the threat experts," explained Captain Corey "Slick" Hermesch of the 18 AGRS. "We study the threat, we teach people about the threat, and lastly we replicate the threat. It’s important that our operators know what they will be going up against if we ever go to war. We work hard to give the rest of the Air Force that knowledge. My hope is that the Blue Force will survive that threat because of the information and the training we’ve passed along."
Joint training between the USAF and IAF at Mountain Home began in the week of July 21st. In the first week there were two day launches, at 1100 and 1500. Each time, most of the 53rd TEG jets, Aggressors, and Sukhois took off with some of the based Eagles for exercises over the nearby ranges. According to Wing Commander George Thomas, "We have flown some basic fighter maneuvers and air combat maneuvers, up to 2vs2 engagements, against both the resident squadrons and the Aggressors. Our aim was to settle down and gain familiarity with the environment and the training rules in vogue here. Subsequent offensive counter air vs. defensive counter air missions were flown against the Aggressors to replicate the Red Flag Scenarios. We have flown air to air and air to ground missions here as we will in Flag."
Shortly before each day's recovery, one Sukhoi would launch for an "exchange" flight with an American airman in the back seat. Many of the 366th Fighter Wing’s pilots, Aggressors, and IAF pilots got rides in each other’s aircraft; Capt Hermesch of the 18 AGRS was one. "Riding in the Su-30 was a unique experience for an American fighter pilot. I was thrilled to have the opportunity," he said. "It handles very well, and was easy to fly". Patch swapping was pretty much the norm among the pilots – there were Sukhoi patches on the sleeves of American pilots, while the Indian pilots had Aggressor and 390th FS squadron patches on their pockets.
Commenting on the Indian Air Force’s performance in the first week of work-ups, Capt Hermesch stated, "The Indian Air Force have adapted quickly to flying in the United States, and they are doing well up to this point. I think they will do well at Red Flag."
Acknowledgments
My sincere thanks to the Public Affairs staff of 366th Fighter Wing, SSgt Jasmine Reif, Senior Airman Megan Lyon; and to Indian Air Force Air Commodore Rakesh Jolly, Air Commodore Jasbir Walia, Group Captain Diptendu Choudhury, Group Captain Ajay Rathore, and others for helping tremendously and accommodating my requests. Special mention goes to SSgt Reif and SrA Lyon for arranging transportation to various locations on the airfield, and for their endless persistence and patience in confirming all the small pieces of information from various sources that enabled me to get the coverage I needed. Thanks raised to infinity to SSgt Reif for escorting me on base at 0500 to get sunrise shots.
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