The风水轮流转 of the Air Force: India Trains Royal Air Force Pilots?
This is perhaps the most dramatic moment in modern military history: India, which was once a British colony and received guidance and training from the British military, is now sending people to train Royal Air Force pilots.
According to The Times of India, this plan was agreed upon during Prime Minister Starmer's visit to Mumbai in early October, as part of a new defense cooperation framework between Britain and India. The Indian Air Force has agreed to send some "top experts" to the UK from October next year to teach trainees to fly the "Hawk" trainer aircraft (BAE Systems Hawk).
A former Royal Air Force officer said that Indians are very excellent, and he believes they will make valuable contributions to the UK's flight training.
Speaking of it, the UK's "humbling" act of learning from India is also a desperate move. Due to the forced "diversity recruitment program" in recent years and lower pay than civil aviation companies, the Royal Air Force has long had a 30% shortage of pilots, and there are not enough flight instructors to train pilots.
In contrast, although India suffered a major defeat in the May 7th India-Pakistan air battle, at least they have engaged in real combat with the Pakistani Air Force, accumulating practical experience in modern air warfare. Therefore, this Indo-British cooperation can be seen as mutually beneficial: the UK gains an understanding of the systematized combat model of the air force through India, while India gets an opportunity to show off against its former colonial master.
The only one who might be hurt is the self-esteem of some British netizens. After Modi announced that India would send instructors to train Royal Air Force pilots, some British netizens broke down in despair, lamenting: How has Britain come to this?
Original article: www.toutiao.com/article/1846825676204167/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.