The Aviation Magazine Volume 6, Issue 8, No#38 October 2015 | Page 40
INDRADHANUSH (Rainbow) is a ten‐day long bilateral exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the
Royal Air Force, (RAF) that took place at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire in July 2015. The IAF brought over
four Sukhoi SU‐30 MKI (NATO code Flanker‐H )fighters to take part in the fourth edition of 'Indradhanush'.
The 190‐member Indian Air Force contingent brought over also an IL‐78 tanker, a C‐17 strategic and a C‐130J
tactical airlift aircraft. The main goal of the exercise was to enhance mutual operational understanding be‐
tween the two Air Forces. The IAF aims to demonstrate its ability to project air power in transcontinental de‐
ployment of a task force comprising Su‐30 MKI fighters, IL‐78 tankers, C‐17 strategic and C‐130J tactical airlift
aircraft in air operations. Su‐30 MKI was operating with the Typhoons of the RAF Air Base at Coningsby. The
IL‐78 and C‐130J were hosted at Brize Norton and they were inducted in missions.
For the Royal Air Force, the chance to train and fly against the Russian‐designed Su‐30, one of the best fourth
generation fighter aircraft in the world, was a rare and excellent opportunity. India is the largest international
operator of the Su‐30MKI; super‐manoeuvrable fighter now built in India under licence by India's Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for IAF . A variant of the Sukhoi Su‐30, the Flanker‐H is a heavy, all‐weather, long‐
range fighter. The development of the variant started after India signed a deal with Russia in 2000 to manu‐
facture 140 Su‐30 fighter jets. The first Russian‐made Su‐30MKI variant was accepted into the Indian Air
Force in 2002, while the first indigenously assembled Su‐30MKI entered service with the IAF in 2004. Addi‐
tional MKIs have been ordered to increase the total to 272. The Indian Su‐30MkI integrates Indian systems
and avionics as well as French and Israeli sub‐systems. It has abilities similar to the Sukhoi Su‐35 with which it
shares many features and components, While the Flanker‐H has different avionics different from the Russian
models, yet with enough similarities to properly accessing the capabilities of the Su‐30/Su‐35 just in case RAF
and NATO would have to fly against such adversary.
The West has a tendency to under‐rate Russian built equipment, based upon experiences gained in the Gulf
Wars as well against Russian equipment they faced in Iraq. Let’s not forget that the West did not face prop‐
erly trained as well as dedicated Russian pilots or the top of the line aircraft, which the Russians do not ex‐
port. In capable hands the Russian top of the line aircraft, are just as capable as the models from the West
such as the F‐16, F‐15, and F‐18; it really comes down to the skill of the pilots, and the reliability of their air‐
craft.
The IAF and their pilots were keen to hone their skills against RAF's top fighter fleet: the Eurofighter Typhoon
with their highly trained pilots.
During the exercise, the Su‐30MKI and Typhoon aircraft were operating in mixed formations under various
near‐realistic scenarios and evaluated tactics. The first phase of the exercises consisted of a series of dog‐
fight scenarios the Flanker‐H agai