The Indian Air Force (IAF) has postponed the 2022 edition of ‘Vayu Shakti’ that was scheduled to be held at Rajasthan’s Pokhran test facility on March 7, officials familiar with development said on Friday.
The development comes at a time when IAF is playing a crucial role in evacuating Indian nationals hit by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
As many as 148 aircraft were supposed to take part in IAF’s biggest exercise, held every three years to showcase India’s air power. There was no statement from IAF on the exercise being postponed. The dates are being reworked, the officials said.
The exercise seemed to be on track earlier in the day with IAF tweeting, “#IAF preparations are in full swing for its Fire Power Demonstration named #ExVayushakti2022, scheduled at Pokhran Range in Rajasthan on 7th March 2022.”
The aircraft scheduled to take part included 109 fighter jets as well as 24 helicopters and seven transport planes. The objective of the exercise is to showcase the capability of IAF to conduct full spectrum operations.
{{/usCountry}}The aircraft scheduled to take part included 109 fighter jets as well as 24 helicopters and seven transport planes. The objective of the exercise is to showcase the capability of IAF to conduct full spectrum operations.
{{/usCountry}}The last edition of the exercise was held on February 16, 2019, ten days before IAF bombed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) targets in Pakistan’s Balakot.
Since then, the IAF has strengthened its combat potential significantly with the induction of Rafale jets armed with potent beyond visual range (BVR) missiles, S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems, a medium range surface-to-air-missile (MRSAM) system and smart air-to-ground weapons.