UAE Accepts Warm Indian Embrace With Promise Of Joint Military Works

India is moving ahead with its plans to conduct trilateral military exercises with France and the UAE.  As a part of its part of the deal, UAE is providing fueling helo for three Rafael aircrafts that are being transported from France to India. 

Credit apparently lies on the shoulder of PM Narendra Modi who has been able to strengthen ties with gulf countries, on other levels apart from just energy exchange and diaspora. 

The UAE air force’s Airbus multi-role transport tanker (MRTT) will be at work when it refuel the Indian fighter jets on their non-stop eight-hour flight from Bordeaux-Merignac base in France to join the Golden Arrows Squadron in Ambala. The refueling exercise is supposed to be done twice. In July, the same exercise was done by France on four different occasions. 

This is UAE’s first attempt and shows great interest and keenness to develop bilateral military ties with India.  According to a world ranking system, UAE ranks 36 out of 138 countries to hold the best of the class of military power and agility.

According to senior diplomats, a relation between India and the UAE has gone through a sea change since the 90s. Today, India and UAE share information and discussion working together at ease. It is this kind of open dialogue that has helped India take back close to 100 criminals of its own that had been hiding in the Emirates since 2014. 

The UAE Air Force will also provide mid-air refueling to the next batch of seven Rafale fighters coming to India in the second half of April. As of now, four French Air Force’s Rafale fighters along with an Airbus MRTT are exercising with the Indian Air Force in the skies over Pokhran. India is also considering Airbus MRTT as one of the options to boost IAF’s power projection and endurance in Asia.

In December, the Indian Army Chief, General M.M. Navarane made a successful visit to the UAE, the first in decades of cold war with this powerful emirate.  One of the major achievements of the top brass’ visit was to set the ball rolling over military production and joint exercises. UAE has responded well to the extended warm embrace of friendship.

This becomes evident as India and UAE enter into talks over a possible Make in India route for the supply of carbines to the Indian Army, a contract of which was won by the state-owned UAE firm Caracal.