Arunachal Pradesh, 16th December 2022: The Indian Air Force conducted a major exercise in the Northeast region, including Arunachal Pradesh. The two-day exercise began on Thursday, in which around 40 frontline fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force, including state-of-the-art fighter jets Rafale and Sukhoi-30MKI, participated. Advance Warning and Control System aircraft also participated in the exercise in the Eastern Air Command area. This manoeuvre of the Indian Air Force is being seen as a strong message amid the situation arising out of the skirmish with Chinese troops on the LAC in the Tawang sector.

However, a statement quoting defence officials clarified that the exercise was pre-scheduled. It has nothing to do with the current tension in the Arunachal Pradesh region. The Air Force has also clarified that this exercise is not related to the incident in the Tawang sector in any way. The objective of this exercise is to maintain the continuity of training of the flying squads of the Air Force. Apart from all the frontline fighter aircraft, a variety of ground military assets have also been included in the exercise.

The Army and the Air Force have been maintaining their operational activity along the LAC in the Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim sector along the forward fronts in Eastern Ladakh for more than two years. This vigilance of the Indian forces is thwarting the plans of the Chinese soldiers. The Air Force also landed its fighter jets in the close area last week, given China’s increasing aerial activity near the LAC in the Tawang sector. Notably, on the day of this important exercise in the Northeast, the last Rafale aircraft coming from France to the Indian Air Force also joined its fleet. The Air Force gave information about this through their Twitter handle.