A French Air Force pilot had the rare opportunity to fly an Indian Su-30MKI air superiority fighter designed in Russia during Garuda VI joint French-Indian air exercises – and he appears to have enjoyed the flight.
The pilot took a sneak peek into one of India’s most modern warplanes developed by Russia’s Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer during a familiarization flight in the first week of this year’s Garuda exercises held between July 1 and 12.
The man even took a midflight selfie from the cockpit of the two-seat fighter jet. “Great Aircraft!” an unofficial French fighter squad account on Twitter wrote. In exchange, an Indian squadron leader was able to fly a French Rafale jet.
The two-week exercises held at the Mont-de-Marsan Air Base in southwestern France will see the French and Indian pilots enhancing their cooperation skills while conducting simulated air defense and ground attack missions. India deployed four Su-30MKIs and an Ilyushin IL-78 flight refueling aircraft as well as 120 pilots and airmen to take part in the exercise.
Source: RT
Image Courtesy: Webmaster Chasse
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