• The Indian Air Force (IAF) is taking part in Ocean Sky 2025, to be hosted by the Spanish Air Force at Gando Air Base (Canary Islands) f.
• The exercise brings together more than 50 aircraft from several countries and aims to enhance interoperability, sharpen air-combat skills and deepen defence cooperation.
• Exercise Ocean Sky is an annual multinational air combat training exercise organised by the Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire).
• First conducted in 2004, initially as a bilateral exercise between Spain and the USA, over time, it expanded into a multilateral exercise.

About Ocean Sky 2025 

• Host / location: Spanish Air Force; Gando Air Base, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands (Spanish territory off NW Africa).
• Edition: 2025 marks one of its largest multilateral iterations.
• Participants: Spain, India, USA, France, and several European allies.
• Scale & composition: Multinational deployment with fighters, tanker/MRTT aircraft and support transports — F-18M, Eurofighter, F-16 variants, F-15E, Su-30MKI among fighters; MRTT, KC-767, KC-30M, A-332, A400M as tankers/transports.
• Participating types of units: Air combat squadrons, aerial refuelling/tanker units, logistics & support elements, mission planning/command nodes.
• Operational lead: Directed by Air Combat Command ( MACOM) with operational leadership from Gando Air Base; support from Lanzarote Air Base.
• Primary aim: Foster mutual learning, increase interoperability, sharpen air combat skill enhancement, bolster defence cooperation.

UPSC-style quick MCQ

Consider the following statements about Exercise Ocean Sky:

1. It is a biennial naval exercise conducted jointly by India and Spain.
   
2. It began in 2004 as a bilateral exercise and later evolved into a multinational air combat drill.
   
3. The exercise is hosted annually by the Spanish Air Force at Gando Air Base in the Canary Islands.
   

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (c) 

SOURCE