Veer Guardian 2023

In News: Furthering air defence cooperation, Veer Guardian 2023 will be held between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) as the first bilateral air exercise at Hyakuri Air Base in Japan

Exercise Veer Guardian:

• It is a maiden joint air exercise between India and Japan
• It will also be the first time when an Indian Air Force woman fighter pilot would be part of the Indian contingent for aerial wargames in a foreign land.
• The participating IAF contingent will include four Su-30 MKI, two C-17 & one IL-78 aircraft. On the other hand, the JASDF contingent will consist of four F-2 & four F-15 aircraft
• The first edition of the bilateral air exercise will see the conduct of various aerial combat drills between the Air Forces of India and Japan.
• The joint exercise will also include multi-domain air combat missions in a complex environment allowing the air warriors to exchange their best practices.
• The conduct of exercise Veer Guardian 2023 is a decision taken to step up the defence cooperation between the two nations which was taken during the second  2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial meeting held in Tokyo, Japan in 2022.
• Exercise Veer Guardian will be another step in deepening strategic ties and closer defence cooperation between India and Japan,  reflecting the growing security cooperation between the two sides. The joint exercise will fortify the long-standing bond of friendship between the two Air Forces.

Source: News on air

Previous Year Question

Q.1) Recently, India signed a deal known as ‘Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field’ with which of the following countries? (2019)

1. Japan
2. Russia
3. The United Kingdom
4. The United States of America