Context:
Recently, the Indian Air Force and Royal Malaysian Air Force participated in Exercise Udara Shakti 2024.
Relevance:
GS III: Security Challenges
Exercise Udara Shakti:
- Joint air exercise with the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).
- Conducted at Kuantan, Malaysia.
- Objective: To enhance operational efficiency, with a focus on sharing maintenance practices between the air forces.
- Featured air combat missions involving IAF’s Su-30MKI and RMAF’s Su-30MKM fighter jets, aimed at improving interoperability, commonality, and effectiveness in aircraft operations.
Sukhoi Su-30MKI
- It is a Multirole combat fighter aircraft.
- Jointly developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) specifically for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
- Design Base: Derived from the Su-30 fighter aircraft.
- Features: Equipped with advanced thrust vectoring control and canards to enhance its maneuverability and combat capabilities.
