IAF’s annual exercise, Exercise Livewire, came to a close on 08 Nov 15. It was a country-wide Air Force exercise conducted to work up the full spectrum of IAF capability and undertake planned operations in response to likely future threats and operational contingencies. During the exercise, the IAF operated its latest acquisitions in a network centric environment, achieving very high levels of synergy with the Army and the Navy. During this exercise, hundreds of missions were flown with impeccable planning and execution. The successful and seamless conduct of the exercise has brought great confidence among the operating crew in the capability of their equipment and aircraft.
The exercise was based on a scenario that included rapid deployment across the country at all operational Air Force bases. The operational philosophy of the IAF has been validated as a whole after numerous tactical and strategic missions in a dynamic warfare environment. Some of the major types of missions flown included long range strikes, Air-to-Air Refueling, Air Defence in a net-centric environment, Counter Surface Force Operations and operations in varied kinds of terrain. Needless to say, the learning value after the exercise at such a large scale has been immense.