UK and India Advance Plan to Embed IAF Instructors in RAF Training

Overview

• RAF chief Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth met India’s Chief of Defence Staff in New Delhi to review progress on training exchanges, intelligence ties and integrated military work.
• Under a February agreement, three Indian qualified flying instructors are scheduled to join RAF Valley, the UK’s fast‑jet training base, in September 2026.
• One Indian instructor is already posted at RAF College Cranwell, which prepares RAF officers and develops instructor skills.
• The two air chiefs plan a visit to Air Force Station Gwalior to study IAF procedures for countering new types of aerial threats.
• Indian statements stressed intelligence collaboration and integrated engagement, while UK readouts highlighted instructor embedding and more complex joint exercises as concrete steps to deepen defence ties.