India and South Korea conducted joint air drills during a major multinational ‘ Pitch Black’ exercise in Australia, involving Korean F-15K and Indian Su-30MKI fighter jets.
This edition is the largest in the 43-year-long history of exercise Pitch Black, which includes participation by 20 countries, with over 140 aircraft and 4400 military personnel of various air forces, Eurasian Times reported.
The Indian Air Force contingent comprised of over 150 highly skilled Air Warriors including pilots, engineers, technicians, controllers, and other subject matter experts, who will be operating the formidable Su-30 MKI multirole fighters, with the C -17 Globemaster and the IL-78 Air-to-Air Refuelling aircraft in combat enabling roles. South Korea has deployed six F-15K fighters and around 100 troops.
The exercise was scheduled to be conducted from 12 July 24 to 02 August 24, however, it was interfered on July 24 when an Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon jet crashed after encountering an “unknown issue” during a training flight.
But now the military exercises have resumed over Northern Territory skies, as informed by the Australian officials.
During the biennial multinational exercise, South Korea’s F-15K and India’s Su-30MKI fighter jets demonstrated exceptional performance. Such encounters between previously adversarial fighter jets often prompt questions about their relative strengths.
Following the 2008 Red Flag exercise, US Air Force pilots anonymously posted assessment videos on YouTube. One officer, while praising how F-15 pilots impressed their Indian counterparts, acknowledged that American fighters were beginning to lose their competitive edge against Russian-made Su-30MKIs.
In these videos, some ISAF pilots made unverified claims, such as suggesting that the Su-30MKI’s thrust vectoring capability caused rapid altitude loss in the aircraft.
“So we start to pull in on him, and then all of a sudden you start to see the [Su-30’s aft-] end kick down, and he starts doing vectored thrust,” the Eurasian Times quoted pilot as saying.
“But now he starts falling out of the sky. He’s falling out of the sky so fast that you don’t even have to go up. You have to pull back on the stick a little bit, pull the throttle, go to guns, and come in and drill his brains out,” he added.
This edition is the largest in the 43-year-long history of exercise Pitch Black, which includes participation by 20 countries, with over 140 aircraft and 4400 military personnel of various air forces, Eurasian Times reported.
The Indian Air Force contingent comprised of over 150 highly skilled Air Warriors including pilots, engineers, technicians, controllers, and other subject matter experts, who will be operating the formidable Su-30 MKI multirole fighters, with the C -17 Globemaster and the IL-78 Air-to-Air Refuelling aircraft in combat enabling roles. South Korea has deployed six F-15K fighters and around 100 troops.
The exercise was scheduled to be conducted from 12 July 24 to 02 August 24, however, it was interfered on July 24 when an Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon jet crashed after encountering an “unknown issue” during a training flight.
But now the military exercises have resumed over Northern Territory skies, as informed by the Australian officials.
During the biennial multinational exercise, South Korea’s F-15K and India’s Su-30MKI fighter jets demonstrated exceptional performance. Such encounters between previously adversarial fighter jets often prompt questions about their relative strengths.
Following the 2008 Red Flag exercise, US Air Force pilots anonymously posted assessment videos on YouTube. One officer, while praising how F-15 pilots impressed their Indian counterparts, acknowledged that American fighters were beginning to lose their competitive edge against Russian-made Su-30MKIs.
In these videos, some ISAF pilots made unverified claims, such as suggesting that the Su-30MKI’s thrust vectoring capability caused rapid altitude loss in the aircraft.
“So we start to pull in on him, and then all of a sudden you start to see the [Su-30’s aft-] end kick down, and he starts doing vectored thrust,” the Eurasian Times quoted pilot as saying.
“But now he starts falling out of the sky. He’s falling out of the sky so fast that you don’t even have to go up. You have to pull back on the stick a little bit, pull the throttle, go to guns, and come in and drill his brains out,” he added.