Exercise Orion

About Exercise Orion:

• It is a multinational exercise hosted by the French government.
• It is reportedly the largest ever multinational exercise being carried out by the French defence forces which have involved their Army, Navy and Air Force.
• It includes ground troops, warships, aircraft carriers and combat aircraft and is meant to boost military cooperation and interoperability among participating nations.
• Besides the IAF and the FASF, Air Forces from Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, U.K. and U.S. would also be flying in this multilateral exercise.
• The IAF contingent will include four Rafale aircraft, two C-17, two IL-78 aircraft and 165 air warriors. 
• This would be the first overseas exercise for the IAF’s Rafale aircraft.

Q1) What are Rafale fighter aircrafts?

The Rafale is a twin-jet fighter aircraft able to operate from both an aircraft carrier and a shore base. The fully versatile Rafale is able to carry out all combat aviation missions: air superiority and air defense, close air support, in-depth strikes, reconnaissance, anti-ship strikes and nuclear deterrence.

Source: INDIAN AIR FORCE TO PARTICIPATE IN MULTILATERAL INTERNATIONAL EXERCISE ORION AT MONT DE MARSAN, FRANCE

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