French firm MBDA will supply 450 MICA interception and aerial combat missiles as part of the second phase of plans for upgrading the Mirage fleet of the Indian Air Force (IAF). India had last July signed a $2.4 billion deal with French defense firms Thales and Dassault for upgrading the Mirages.
Tag: Mirage 2000
First Indo-French army exercise begins
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India and France Monday began their first-ever joint army war game with platoon-sized forces from each side undertaking counter-terrorism operations at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand.
MiG-21 crashes in Punjab, pilot safe
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The Indian Air Force (IAF) Tuesday lost another MiG-21 combat aircraft in a crash near Rajpura town in Punjab’s Patiala district. The young pilot, who was on a routine training sortie, bailed out to safety before the crash.
Top brass split over Mirage upgrade
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With the USD 2.4 billion Mirage-2000 upgrade deal with France in its final stages, India’s defense ministry and air force top brass seem to be split over the high costs and likely benefits to the country’s future air power needs.
IAF-RAF drill begins
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Warbirds of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the British Royal Air Force (RAF) took off on Wednesday to match skills against each other in the joint exercise Indradhanush (Rainbow) at IAF Kalaikunda, in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal.
New runway at IAF Gwalior
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The Gwalior Air Base of the India Air Force (IAF) became the first IAF base to get a second operational runway, parallel to the first, on Wednesday. Air Marshal GS Kochar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Central Air Command inaugurated the second runway at Gwalior which also inducted the Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft on Wednesday.
IAF-RAF exercise next week
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For the first time, the 17-day exercise will include the IAF’s IL-76 AWACS and the RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft.
MBDA offers India ordnance mgmt services
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The European arms firm MBDA has offered its services for stockpile management to the Indian armed forces, saying it can help achieve cost savings of up to 30 per cent, besides configuring life extensions of existing stock and improving safety.
