A major long-range mission in the Indo-Pacific, code-named Pegase 22 is being conducted by the French Air and Space Force from August 10 to September 18.
New Delhi: As part of the reciprocal logistic support agreement between India and France, a contingent of French Air Force has made a strategically crucial stopover in India. The contingent including three Rafale jets and support aircraft made stopover at the IAF’s Sulur base in Tamil Nadu as part of a mega military operation it carried out in the Pacific Ocean.
The reciprocal logistics support agreement was signed by both India and France in 2018 to boost military cooperation and its implementation was reflected with the stopover of French Air Force contingent in India.
According to the reports, the cooperation with the Indian Air Force demonstrated a high level of mutual trust and interoperability between the two countries. During the technical stopover at Air Force Station Sulur on August 10 and 11, French military contingent was hosted by Indian side. The move was materialised during a long-distance deployment from metropolitan France to the Pacific Ocean.
Indian Air Force’s Media Co-ordination Centre, in a tweet, said, “A contingent of the French Air & Space Force staged through an IAF base on their way to Ex-Pitch Black 2022 in Australia.”
It may be noted that a major long-range mission in the Indo-Pacific, code-named Pegase 22 is being conducted by the French Air and Space Force from August 10 to September 18.
“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),” the statement said.
“To achieve this unprecedented 16,600-km deployment, the Air Force contingent made a technical stopover in India, at Air Force Station Sulur,” it said.
“Landing at Air Force Station Sulur on August 10th evening, it flew out in the early hours of 11th August after refuelling, en route to New Caledonia,” the readout noted.
“The operation demonstrated a high level of mutual trust and interoperability between the French and Indian Air Forces, which has been further boosted by the fact that both Air Forces now fly Rafale jets,” it said.