Visit of General Denis Mercier, Chief of Staff of the French Air Force
General Denis Mercier, Chief of Staff of the French Air Force, headed the official French delegation that visited the Aero India 2013 aerospace exhibition in Bangalore. During his stay, from 5 to 7 February 2013, he held a meeting with the Chief of Staff of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne, PVSM, AVSM, SM, ADC, during which they discussed bilateral cooperation between the two air forces. General Mercier offered to share the lessons from recent air operations in Afghanistan, Libya and Mali with the IAF.
He later made a courtesy call on Dr V. Saraswat, Director of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Scientific Advisor to the honourable Raksha Mantri.
He also had a cordial conversation with Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, PV, DFC. They discussed sixty years of shared history and shared values between the French and Indian air forces, flying the same types of fighter aircraft, from the Toofani (Ouragan) in the fifties to the current Vajra (Mirage 2000H). They referred to their personal bond as members of the Brotherhood of “Tigers”, Air Chief Marshal Denis Mercier and Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh having both commanded squadrons displaying crests adorned with a tiger.
