India, Japan air chiefs fly Tejas together at Veer Guardian exercise

Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh and his Japanese counterpart, General Takehiro Morita, flew in separate Tejas aircraft on Sunday as part of a formation sortie during the bilateral air exercise Veer Guardian, underway at Air Force Station Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

The Indian Air Force chief flew solo in a Tejas fighter, while the Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) was aboard a Tejas trainer with an IAF pilot commanding a Tejas unit as captain. The sortie lasted roughly 20 to 25 minutes, during which the formation flew over the airfield before carrying out a peel-off manoeuvre to land.

Air Chief Marshal Singh, who led the formation, described General Morita's decision to fly the aircraft as a clear expression of confidence in India's indigenous platform. He said the sortie would go a long way in opening up exchange programmes, including in fighter training, and noted that the Japanese chief had flown with one of the IAF's finest pilots.

Speaking to the media afterwards, General Morita said he was grateful for the chance to fly in the Tejas, calling it a symbol of India's technological innovation and of the Make in India initiative. He said the experience gave him a first-hand appreciation of the training environment available to the Indian Air Force and the value the exercise holds for the JASDF, also known as Koku Jieitai. He added that he would remember the flight as a mark of the trust, confidence and friendship built between the two air services over the years.

Air Chief Marshal Singh said the sortie had been kept deliberately gentle, given that it was the Japanese chief's first flight in the heat. He also pointed to the pace of growth in India's aircraft industry, research and development, and production, noting that the Tejas has been operationalised and that a large number of units are on order, with some held up by global supply chain issues. He said the Tejas Mark II and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, India's fifth-generation programme, would take the country's defence aviation sector to much greater heights.

Exercise Veer Guardian, the second bilateral air exercise between the two air forces, is being held from September 9 to 22. The IAF is participating with the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Su-30 MKI and Rafale aircraft, while the JASDF has deployed its F-2A fighters. This is the first time JASDF fighter aircraft are operating from Indian soil as part of a bilateral exercise. The earlier edition, Exercise Shinyuu Maitri, was held in India in 2018.

Over the 14-day exercise, personnel from both air forces are undertaking advanced operational missions and professional interactions aimed at building interoperability and strengthening the defence partnership between India and Japan.