India and France will start a five-day joint air exercise on Wednesday, theIndian government announced on Tuesday.

The Indian Air Force and the French Air and Space Force will conduct the ExDesert Knight-21 drill at the Jodhpur air force station in Rajasthan,northern India from Jan. 20 to 24, according to an Indian Defense Ministrystatement.

“The exercise is unique as it includes fielding of Rafale aircraft by bothsides and is indicative of the growing interaction between the two premierAir Forces. As the two detachments commence their air exchange from 20 Janonwards, they will put into practice operational experience gained acrossterrains and spectrums and endeavor to exchange ideas and best practices toenhance interoperability,” read the statement.

The French side will participate the exercise with Rafale, Airbus A-330Multi-Role Tanker Transport, A-400M Tactical Transport aircraft and around175 personnel, while India’s aircraft participating in the drill willinclude Mirage 2000, Su-30 MKI, Rafale, IL-78 Flight Refueling Aircraft,according to the statement.

The Defense Ministry said that as part of Indo-French defense cooperation,both the air forces have held six editions of air exercises named Garuda,with the latest held in 2019 at Air Force Base Mont-de-Marsan, France.