An Indian air force Dassault Mirage 2000TH crashed during a training exercise on 24 February, with both crew members ejecting safely from the aircraft.

"One Mirage 2000 aircraft crashed near Bhind, Madhya Pradesh, on 24 February at about 12:10 hours [local time]," said the Indian air force in a statement. "The aircraft had got airborne from Gwalior air base and was on a routine training-flying mission," it added.

The air force has launched an inquiry following the incident.

The Indian air force suffers a major capability gap in pilot training. A decision to obtain the Pilatus PC-7 Mk II to replace its grounded Hindustan Aeronautics HPT-32 Deepak fleet has been delayed. In recent years it has also lost several antiquated MiG-series aircraft in training-related incidents.

Source: Flight International