EXERCISE ORION

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Context

• An Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent will participate in Exercise Orion at Mont-de-Marsan, an Air Force base of the French Air and Space Force from 17 April to 05 May 2023, with the IAF Contingent comprising four Rafale, two C-17, two ll-78 aircraft and 165 air warriors.

Details

• This would be the first overseas exercise for the IAF's Rafale aircraft.
• The Rafales of the IAF have earlier participated in wargames with foreign countries which took place within India including the ones with French Air Force in Jodhpur codenamed Desert Knight.

About the exercise

• “Exercise ORION 2023” is the first exercise in what French Joint Forces Command hopes will be a triennial cycle of exercises aimed at reinforcing joint forces operational readiness.
• ORION is based on a scenario developed by NATO to apprehend the different phases of a modern conflict and will be on a scale unprecedented in recent decades.
• Orion is reportedly the largest ever multinational exercise being carried out by the French defence forces which have involved their Army, Navy and Air Force along with their allies the US and the UK.

Participating Nations

• Besides the IAF and the FASF, Air Forces from Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain and United States of America would also be flying in this multilateral exercise.

Benefits

• Participation in this exercise would further enrich the employment philosophy of the India Air Force, by imbibing the best practices from other Air Forces.

About Rafale

• The Rafale aircraft are the latest fighters to have been inducted into the Indian Air Force and are considered to be the most potent in the entire Asian region.
• The 36 Rafales have been completely inducted and they have played a significant role in improving the country’s operational preparedness along both the borders with Pakistan and China.

Benefits:

• The Rafale is combat proven, have been used by the French Air Force for its missions in Afghanistan, Libya and Mali.
• It has also been used for missions in Central African Republic, Iraq and Syria.
• Rafale can also carry more fuel and weapons than the J20.
• The jets come with one of the most advanced Meteor air-to-air missiles.
• The 190-kg missile has a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) of over 100 km, traveling at a top speed of Mach 4.
• The F16 jets, used by Pakistan, carry the AMRAAM missile, which has a BVR of 75 km. Rafale can also outperform F16 in dogfights.
• The Rafale jets also come with SCALP, the air-to-ground cruise missile with a range over 300 km. It is a long-range deep strike missile.

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1916275