India, France, UAE strengthen defence ties with Desert Knight air combat exercise

India, France, and the UAE have launched "Desert Knight," a trilateral air combat exercise over the Arabian Sea to boost military interoperability and enhance defence ties. Conducted southwest of Karachi, the exercise features intensive combat manoeuvres involving advanced aircraft like Sukhoi-30MKIs, Rafales, and F-16s. This marks a continued effort to build strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and Persian Gulf regions amid global geopolitical tensions.