The Indian Air Force and the Royal Thai Air Force have confirmed a significant joint air exercise conducted on 13 February 2026, which paired Indian Su-30MKI fighters with Thai Gripen jets over the Indian Ocean.

This in situ drill underscores expanding interoperability between two contrasting airpower paradigms amid heightened focus on maritime security and dynamic operational tactics in the region.

The exercise took place from 9 to 12 February 2026, with Indian assets launching from bases in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, while Thai Gripens operated from Thailand. It integrated air-to-air refuelling, airborne battle management, and mixed formation tactics, placing India’s long-range, twin-engine Su-30MKI platforms alongside Thailand’s compact, network-centric Gripens.

Indian officials described the activity as a routine demonstration of reach and interoperability. Thailand contributed its Ground Control Interception element, facilitating fighter control across national command structures. This setup simulates scenarios where dispersed forces must forge a unified recognised air picture, manage tactical intercepts, and ensure deconfliction over vast maritime expanses

The platform pairing carries strategic weight. India deployed Su-30MKI multirole fighters supported by IL-78 tankers and AWACS, complemented by Thai Gripens. Far from mere fighter-to-fighter sorties, this was a comprehensive systems test encompassing detection, identification, command and control, tanker rendezvous, and tactical execution.

Crew coordination demanded standardised mission planning, communications protocols, rendezvous procedures, and emergency responses—critical tests of true interoperability. The inclusion of tankers extended endurance, transforming the event into a sustained air policing simulation suited to maritime domains.

Thailand’s Gripen fleet embodies a distinct philosophy: a lightweight, networked multirole fighter excelling in high sortie rates, dispersed basing, and rapid turnaround. Thailand has nurtured a Saab ecosystem around its Gripen C/D variants, incorporating airborne early warning and national data links for sensor fusion and cooperative engagements. Recent orders for Gripen E/F variants affirm its role in Bangkok’s modernisation.

For India, the exercise offered valuable observation of Gripen operations—its control dynamics, beyond-visual-range timelines, and integration with mixed airborne command structures. This exposure transcends endorsement, providing empirical data on foreign platforms in Indian operational contexts.

The Su-30MKI remains India’s cornerstone for long-range airpower, adept at maritime strikes, air defence, and patrols from forward locations like the Andaman and Nicobar chain. Its endurance and payload contrast with the Gripen’s emphasis on quick-reaction alerts and ground-integrated defence, yielding rich tactical comparisons when paired.

Such cooperation yields low-risk gains in air refuelling procedures, brevity codes, formation tactics, and intercept geometries. These enhance prospects for joint efforts in contingencies like search-and-rescue, humanitarian air cover, or maritime patrols near vital sea lanes.

The Indian Ocean focus, leveraging Andaman and Nicobar bases, emphasises endurance, reach, and resilient command amid chokepoints like the Malacca Strait approaches. It fosters habits in cross-servicing, sensor cueing, and shared awareness without formal alliances.

India’s Ministry of Defence tied the drill to its Act East partnership with Thailand, signalling steady defence ties expansion into aerospace. This fits a regional trend: medium powers enhancing airpower coordination for crisis response while shunning binding pacts.

From a procurement angle, the exercise does not dictate India’s fighter choices but bolsters evaluation of Gripen integration with Indian tankers, C2 assets, and mixed fleets. SAAB aggressively pitches Gripen E with industrial offsets, gaining from operational familiarity beyond brochures.

Momentum favours Rafale industrial ties, positioning it as a rival in India’s roadmap. The drill thus subtly enriches the evidence base for network-centric options without tipping scales in a landscape driven by policy, fleet needs, and partnerships.

This Su-30MKI-Gripen exercise exemplifies pragmatic Indo-Thai defence collaboration, prioritising tanking, battle management, and control integration over pageantry. Geostrategically, it signals investment in maritime air operations, promoting stability via readiness and flexibility.

Repeated engagements could shape India’s benchmarks for interoperability, sustainment, and networks in future evaluations—though outcomes remain shaped by broader imperatives, probabilistic rather than prescriptive.

Agencies