The Air Force would like the Indian Air Force to participate regularly in Red Flag multinational air combat training exercises, according to an English-language South Asian online news service. The Sindh Today newspaper reported Aug. 22 that USAF has invited the Indians to be a regular presence at Red Flag after being impressed by the prowess of IAF pilots who took part in the two-week Red Flag that concludes today at Nellis AFB, Nev. The IAF sent eight Su-30MKI multirole fighters and a support package to the exercise, marking its first participation. “IAF is a world class air force with great aircraft and great leadership,” said Capt Marcus Wilson, one of Nellis’ team chiefs for the exercise, according to the news service. “It is a great training opportunity for USAF and IAF to integrate our assets in training environment.”
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…