IAF to hold MahaGujRaj 2011 over western region

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force will deploy its frontline aircraft including the Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000 and AWACS in massive aerial wargames codenamed MahaGujRaj 2011, aiming to meet challenges in both conventional and sub-conventional operations."The South Western Air Command (SWAC) is holding wargames named MahaGujRaj-2011 in its area of responsibility from November 20 to December 13," Defence ministry spokesperson Colonel S D Goswami said in New Delhi.[caption id="attachment_127653" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="An IAF Sukhoi SU-30 takes off at Aero India 2011 in Bangalore on 11 February 2011. Image courtesy PIB"][/caption]He said the aim of the exercise was to "impart realistic training to air warriors to face challenges that may arise both in sub-conventional and conventional operations and to validate and test new concepts in order to fully operationalise the new acquisitions". The exercise is held annually and this year it is planned in Gujarat and Rajasthan areas where most of the operational units of SWAC would be participating to practise various facets of air operation, Goswami said. "In addition, joint operations will also be carried out with Southern Command, Army in conjunction with Exercise Sudershan Shakti," he said."All aircraft including Jaguars, MiG-29, MiG-27, MiG 21 Bison, Sukhoi-30 MKI and Mirage-2000 will take part in the exercise along with latest acquisitions like the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) and some of the new networking systems," the spokesperson added. PTI