Germany is about to participate with several other European countries to the first multinational air combat exercise organised by the Indian Air Force (IAF), in a bid to reinforce its presence in the defence sector in India and try to showcase the Airbus A400M transport aircraft that Germany develops with France.
India dubbed the drills Tarang Shakti and will see 10 countries participating with their air assets, plus 18 other nations as observers. The drills will have two phases. In the first one Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom will conduct war games scenario with India in Sulur, in Southern India. Then, Australia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Greece, the United Arab Emirates and the United States will participate in the second phase in the Northern town of Jodphur.
The exercise will allow Germany to strengthen its ties with India and its presence in the Indo-Pacific region. Especially in the defence sector, Germany is interested in selling more equipments to India. The Asian country is in the midst of an equipment change and is moving away from its Soviet-era aircraft to closer ties with Western countries. India is also looking to upgrade its air fleet in light of rising tensions with China at the Northern border.
DW reported the opinion of a retired Indian air marshal, Anil Chopra, who said that “The IAF is looking at a medium transport aircraft. There are three
contenders: Brazil’s Embraer C-390, Airbus A400M where Germany is a
partner and Lockheed C-130.”
In addition to potential sales, Germany is also participating in the drill exercise to improve its combat capacity and potentially learn how to cope with Russian-made aircraft that are currently used by India.
