CONTENTS
- Exercise Desert Flag VIII
- Unying Festival
- Exercise Cobra Warrior
Exercise Desert Flag VIII
Focus: GS III: Security Challenges
Why in News?
Indian Air Force is participating in Exercise Desert Flag VIII 110 which is hosted by the United Arab Emirates.
About Exercise Desert Flag VIII:
- Exercise Desert Flag VIII is a yearly multinational warfare exercise held by the UAE Air Force.
- The Indian Air Force will be taking part with five LCA Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft.
- Other participants in the exercise include air forces from France, Kuwait, Australia, the UK, Bahrain, Morocco, Spain, the Republic of Korea, and the USA.
- The exercise is set to take place from February 27th to March 17th.
- India also conducts joint military exercises with the UAE, such as the In-UAE BILAT (bilateral naval exercise) and the Desert Eagle-II (bilateral air force exercise).
Unying Festival
Focus: GS I: History
Why in News?
Recently, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush attended the colourful Siang Unying Festival in Arunachal Pradesh.
About Unying Festival:
- Unying Festival is celebrated to mark the beginning of the Adi community’s New Year and the season of cultivation, as well as to strengthen the bonds within the community.
- The Adi people are believed to have migrated from southern China in the 16th century and they are a major group residing in the lower part of the Lower Dibang Valley district, particularly in the Roing and Dambuk areas of Arunachal Pradesh.
- They have a reputation for being skilled in crafting items from cane and bamboo.
- The Adis rely on both wet rice and shifting cultivation for their livelihoods, and they celebrate two major festivals:
- Solung, a harvest festival that involves animal sacrifices and rituals, and Aran, a hunting festival where all male members of the family go hunting.
Exercise Cobra Warrior
Focus: GS III: Security Challenges
Why in News?
An Indian Air Force contingent comprising 145 Air Warriors departed Air Force Station Jamnagar for participating in Exercise Cobra Warrior at the Waddington Air Force Base of the Royal Air Force in United Kingdom.
About Exercise Cobra Warrior
- The Exercise Cobra Warrior is a multilateral Air exercise in which Air Forces from Finland, Sweden, South Africa, United States of America and Singapore would also be participating alongside Royal Air Force and IAF.
- The IAF is participating in the exercise this year with five Mirage 2000 fighters, two C-17 Globemaster III and an IL-78 mid air refueller aircraft.
- The aim of the exercise is to participate in diverse fighter aircraft engagements and learn from the best practices of various Air Forces.
