Why Indian Rafale jets are making strategic pit stops in Egypt, Greece on way back from US

The Greeks have one of the largest air forces in NATO, which includes 18 Rafale fighters

On their way back from the important Red Flag exercise with the United States Air Force in Alaska, the eight Rafales of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will split up, four going to Egypt and the others, to Greece. Why Egypt? Why Greece? Both questions have answers that are about tactical benefits for the IAF, but also the strategic, geopolitical context. When it comes to air force strengths, both Egypt and Greece punch above their weights. Both Egypt and Greece have modern fleets that even match what the IAF has.

The Greeks, with a population of 10.3 million, maybe even less than that of Delhi million, have one of the largest air forces in NATO. That includes 18 Rafale fighters and six more are due, comparing favorably with India's 36. They have 24 Mirage 2000s, a warplane India also has, and more are coming. Importantly, they have about 150 F-16s, an American fighter which Pakistan has. Besides, the Hellenic Air Force has ordered 30 top-of-the-line American F-35 fighters and they'll arrive in 2028. That is formidable enough and Indian pilots will benefit from flying alongside the F-16s, learning what they c an do against the Rafales. As the Greeks have both and the Mirage-2000, they will have a good idea of the respective capabilities of all three fighters.

The Egyptians are another air force (and there are only a handful) that have the Rafale, the Mirage-2000 and the F-16. They have a squadron of the Mirage-2000, 24 Rafales (they have ordered 30more) and 240 F-16s. They're also looking for the American F-15. Again, what applies to the Greeks will apply to the Egyptian Air Force. How do their F-16s work vis-à-vis their other two frontline aircraft? There are lessons to be learnt by IAF officers and men regarding capabilities, servicing and maintenance and similar issues.

Then, there is geopolitics. India believes that Egypt is the key Arab country to deal with, along with the UAE and now, Saudi Arabia. It is the most populous; it has had economic and socio-cultural links with India for thousands of years and yes, the Nasser-Nehru links during the Non Aligned Movement are remembered. Egyptian President Abdel El-Sisi was chief guest for the Republic Day parade in 2023. Six months later, Prime Minister Modi was in Cairo and then, President El-Sisi was back in India for the G-20. Just the travel schedules of the two leaders tell part of the story. .

It's the same with Greece. PM Modi visited Greece in August last year. It didn't take long for the Greek PM, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to plan his return visit: he was in India early this year, becoming the first Greek leader to visit India in 15 years. One reason, of course, has been the diplomatic difficulties Athens has had with Ankara, and no country has supplied more weaponry to Pakistan, other than the Chinese, have been the Turks. This includes corvettes, drones of different kinds and ammunition. There is talk of the Turks 'making in Pakistan,' too. So, there is a 'my rival's friend's rival is my friend' bit there as well.