India Sends Garud Commandos And C-130J Aircraft For First Air Force Exercise In Israel

India has sent a 45 member contingent of the Indian Air Force (IAF), made up of a team of Garud commandos and a special operations C-130J aircraft for its first military exercise in Israel, Times of India has reported.

The team, which consists of personnel from various combat elements of the IAF, is led by Group Captain Maluk Singh.

Other countries like the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Poland will also participate in the drill, officially called the Blue Flag exercise.

"It is a biannual multilateral exercise which aims to strengthen military cooperation among the participating nations. The exercise, being held at Uvda Air Force Base, will provide a platform for sharing knowledge, experience and in improving capability of the participating nations," the daily quoted an official as saying.

"This is the first time the IAF is operating with the Israeli Air Force in a multilateral exercise. Exercise Blue Flag gives us the opportunity to share and learn best practices with some of the best professionals from other air forces," he added.

Military ties between India and Israel have improved significantly in the last few years, and the services on both sides have started cooperating on a wide range of issues. The security relationship between the two countries has grown following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Jewish state in July.