Lt. Col. Michael Fessler, the commander who, on the first day of Aero India 2021, flew the B-1 Bomber along with the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, called the exercise an incredible experience. The pilot said during an interaction on Thursday that, after more than 75 years, the B1 is the first bomber to land in India. The last time that a bomber landed was in October 1945, he said.
“Aero India has been an amazing experience. I have gotten the chance to work with many air forces across the world, but never personally had an opportunity to work with the Indian Air Force. I was looking forward to it for quite some time. We are really impressed with the pilot of Tejas. Their leadership, professionalism, and skill have been incredible. Unfortunately, I never had an opportunity to personally meet pilots. They were about 25 feet away during the exercise, I got very pretty face-to-face with them,” he said.
He said he was in the U.S. For almost 20 years, the Air Force has been successfully flying the B-1 for around 17 years.
The B-1 B is one of the world’s last aircraft to have variable wing geometry.
He added that establishing collaboration and a personal relationship with the Indian Air Force was the main objective of participating in Aero India.
