That “interview” has been proven to be fake. “Unamed PAF officer”? Interesting how the comparison with Pakistan Air Force is never more then a few posts away with any subject matter on the IAF. Inferiority complex much?

Inferiority? when a Pakistani comes on to an IAF thread and talks rubbish about it being painted in a bad light because someone probably in private mentioned how the IAF did in the exercises?

I can smell something burning here.. lol

Damn..12-0 for the Su-30MKI in WVR combat against the Typhoon! Vishnu Som is one of the few good defence journos in India, although he writes for NDTV..

IAF top guns score wins in the UK

New Delhi: [b] In some of the most intense international air combat exercises ever featuring the Indian Air Force, IAF pilots flying Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighters had a resounding 12-0 scoreline in their favour against Royal Air Force Typhoon jets in Within Visual Range (WVR) dogfighting operations.

In subsequent Large Force Exercises (LFE) which featured combined Eurofighter Typhoon and Su-30 formations, the IAF jets were somewhat less successful but consistently held an edge over the Typhoon.

In an exclusive interview, Group Captain Ashu Srivastav, the Contingent Commander in the exercises, told NDTV that the performance of his pilots was “exceptional.” According to Group Captain Srivastav, who happens to be the IAF’s most experienced Su-30 pilot, his pilots showed “flexibility and adaptability to a new environment and operating conditions and on this benchmark, I would rate them exceptional.”

…

The first week of the exercises pitted the Su-30, which NATO calls the Flanker, in a series of aerial dogfight scenarios. First, there were 1 v 1 encounters, where a single jet of each type engaged each other in Within Visual Range (WVR) combat, firing simulated missiles to a range of two miles. The exercises progressed to 2 v 2 engagements with two Eurofighters taking on two Su-30s and 2 v 1 exercises where two Sukhois took on a single Typhoon and vice versa. Notably, in the exercise where a lone Su-30 was engaged by two Typhoons, the IAF jet emerged the victor ‘shooting’ down both ‘enemy’ jets.

In all dog fighting exercises, IAF Sukhois were able to turn sharply into the extremely agile Typhoons using their thrust-vectored engines to keep the RAF jets locked in their sights. The Su-30’s advanced Infrared Search and Track System (IRST), a passive sensor, which cannot be tracked, proved to be a distinct advantage for the IAF’s pilots in close-combat maneuvering. Both the IAF and RAF used the full capabilities of their onboard radars, albeit in training mode, which meant that actual radar frequencies used in combat conditions were never exposed for confidentiality reasons. However, the detection ranges of the radars of both aircraft were not curtailed per se. This was air combat as close to the real thing as possible.

…

The pilots themselves ranged from young Flight Lieutenants to senior Group Captains from either side drawn directly from Typhoon squadrons and the IAF’s 2 Squadron, The Winged Arrows, based in Kalaikunda. The idea was for both sides to expose their operational pilots to a modern frontline platform of the same class. Accordingly, the IAF did not deploy any senior pilots serving with its Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE).

By the time the exercises shifted to Large Force Engagements (LFE) in the second week, IAF pilots were comfortable operating in British conditions. The Large Force Engagements saw mixed formation scenarios where the IAF operated its jets alongside RAF Typhoons in air battles against fellow Su-30s flying together with other Typhoons.

The Large Force Engagements saw 4 v 4 engagements at beyond visual range and graduated to a massive 8 v 8 engagement featuring 16 aircraft in the skies near Coningsby. IAF pilots shared tactical information with RAF pilots in their formations using radio communications since the IAF’s data-link system (which shares critical sensor data with friendly aircraft) was not compatible with the Link 16 system in use with NATO aircraft like the Typhoon.

Asked about the performance of IAF pilots in these Large Force Engagements, Group Captain Srivastav told NDTV his pilots performed “fairly well” though “quantifying [the results] is difficult”. It was not unexpected for the IAF to “lose” one or two jets (over all the Large Force Engagements put together) given that the movement of each formation was directed by fighter controllers coordinating an overall air battle. Both sides agreed to simulate their Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Missiles at 25 miles for offensive missions and 22 miles for defensive scenarios.

IAF C-130 and Il-78 jets also participated in the Large Force engagements where they were “defended” by the fighter formations they were flying with against ‘enemy’ attacks.

The IAF also encountered no serviceability issues with any of its participating jets. All Su-30s were available for the daily exercises which took place over two blocks, one in the morning, the other in the afternoon for a total of eight sorties daily.

Praising the support the IAF received from the RAF, Group Captain Srivastav told NDTV, “The hosts were very good. They were ready to extend exceptional support.”

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Enough of derailing this thread already. The Indians will think we’re pakistanis paid by ‘mountain’.

please! there’s a big difference between a halfwit’s rubbish and the discussion that’s going on here..

Indian Flankers and RAF Typhoons dogfight over Britain

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RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire is hosting four Su-30MKI Flanker fighters whose crews are training with the Typhoon FGR4 equipped 3(Fighter) Squadron. Officer Commanding 3(F) Sqn is Wing Commander Chris Moon:

“This is an exciting exercise for us. In the Typhoon Force we deploy around the world on various exercises so to have an Air Force as respected as the IAF with their Su-30 Flankers is a huge experience for us and we’re really enjoying flying with them.

“It’s only through doing different things that we really learn. We’re working together on the ground, we’re planning and briefing together, flying together in the air and then debriefing and we’re learning a lot from each other.”

Over the course of two weeks the complexity of the training sorties is increasing, starting from one v one dogfights to sorties involving up to 20 fighters. Speaking shortly after his first encounter with the thrust vector equipped Su-30, RAF Typhoon pilot Flight Lieutenant Mike Highmoor had no doubt about the value of the bilateral exercise:

“This is fantastic. It’s the first time I’ve flown against a Flanker this morning and it’s fascinating to see another air force do its thing in a different aeroplane. Flying against an aircraft which is equally comparable to the Typhoon isn’t something we get to fight against on a regular basis in the UK. It’s very exciting.

“It’s an incredibly impressive fighter but the Typhoon is a good match for it.”
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And yet India and yourself are denying that this was their drone.

Supposing that it was indeed true that a Chinese drone was used by any Indian service (not sure about that anyway), it still doesn’t prove that what was shot down was Indian. Pakistani agencies may well be using the type of Chinese drones that were shot down.