India and Thailand will engage in a crucial aerial battle on February 9 between the Sukhoi-30 and Gripen.

According to defense sources, on February 9, Indian Air Force (IAF) Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets and Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) Gripen fighters would engage in a joint air exercise close to the Malacca Strait.

The IAF’s first foreign air drill of 2026 will take place in the North Malacca Strait, close to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It coincides with increased operational activity in the wake of Operation Sindoor.While a comparable number of Gripen planes would arrive from Thai air bases, India will send out four to six Sukhoi-30 MKI aircraft that are based in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. To increase operational complexity, the exercise will also include an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft and IAF mid-air refueling tankers.

According to defense authorities, the exercise’s main goal is to improve the two air forces’ cooperation, interoperability, and sharing of best practices. Naval warships will be stationed at sea to support air maneuvers during the combined exercise, which will also involve maritime search and rescue operations. Testing operational sustainability and logistics endurance in island territory is a primary goal. This is an essential competence in the strategically critical Indian Ocean Region.

Following Operation Sindoor, the IAF’s drill schedule has become more and more full, including the India-Thailand encounter. The force will take part in three significant air drills with allied foreign air forces, including those of France, the United States, and Greece, over the course of the next two months.

India has already participated in a number of well-known exercises since Operation Sindoor, such as Exercise Garud with France, AviaIndra with Russia, and other international exercises involving partner countries.

Thailand’s strategic significance has been emphasized by the Ministry of External Affairs, which points out that the two nations share marine borders and that Thailand is a major actor in Southeast Asia due to its geographic location.

Under India’s “Look East” policy, which was later improved to the “Act East” program, defense cooperation between Thailand and India has gradually increased. Military cooperation was designated as a key area by a Joint Working Group on Security Cooperation, which was established in 2003.

In January 2012, a Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation was signed, further formalizing the collaboration. The treaty calls for high-level defense visits, training exchanges, counterterrorism and anti-piracy operations, coordinated maritime patrols close to international maritime borders, and frequent cooperative exercises.

Both nations are anticipated to strengthen operational coordination in an area of increasing strategic importance with the next air practice.