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The skies over the Rajasthan deserts are set for a rare display of global airpower as the Indian Air Force hosts the second edition of its flagship multinational exercise, Tarang Shakti, at Jodhpur from September 26 to October 12.
The major attraction will be the US Air Force’s fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighter jets, participating in an Indian military exercise for the first time. The exercise will bring together advanced combat aircraft from several air forces, including the US F-35, French Rafale and UAE F-16, alongside the IAF’s Su-30MKI, Rafale, Tejas, Mirage 2000, MiG-29 and Jaguar fleets.
The F-35 has previously appeared at Aero India in Bengaluru, but its participation in Tarang Shakti will mark its first operational exercise engagement on Indian soil. The deployment is particularly significant given Jodhpur’s location in western Rajasthan, relatively close to the Pakistan border.
The IAF has invited 65 countries for the exercise. Eight countries – the US, France, UAE, Germany, Australia, Greece, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka – are expected to participate with aircraft and air force personnel, while 32 other countries will attend as observers and delegates. Air Chiefs or their equivalents from about 10 countries are also expected to be present.
Russia and Saudi Arabia are not participating in the exercise, while China has not been invited to participate in the mega event. Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said the two countries have separate military engagement arrangements with India and confirmed that China has not been invited. He described Tarang Shakti as an exercise involving friendly foreign countries, focused on interoperability, operational learning and complex joint tactical manoeuvres.
F-35, Rafale and F-16 in the same exercise
The foreign contingent is expected to include six US F-35s and two KC-135 tankers. France is expected to deploy seven Rafales, three A400M transport aircraft and two MRTTs, while the UAE is expected to field six F-16s and a Global 6000.
Germany will bring two A400Ms, while Australia and Bangladesh are expected to deploy C-130 transport aircraft. Sri Lanka will participate with a King Air 350.
The IAF will field a broad cross-section of its combat and support fleet, including Rafales, Su-30MKIs, Tejas, Jaguars, Mirage 2000s and MiG-29s, besides airborne surveillance and aerial-refuelling assets.
The exercise will also provide an opportunity for India to showcase its indigenous defence platforms, weapons, sensors and unmanned systems. Air Chiefs and senior foreign commanders attending Tarang Shakti could also get an opportunity to fly in the indigenous Tejas.
Air Marshal Dixit said the significance of Tarang Shakti went beyond the aircraft taking part.
“For many years, our operational engagement with foreign air forces was largely through bilateral exercises. We learnt to operate with one partner at a time. Tarang Shakti changed that approach,” he said.
The first edition in 2024 involved 11 foreign air forces deploying aircraft across two phases. Air Marshal Dixit said the exercise represented a shift from predominantly bilateral engagement to planning and operating with multiple air forces simultaneously.
The smaller number of countries deploying aircraft this year, he said, was primarily due to scheduling considerations.
Learning from recent wars
The IAF leadership has also sought to position Tarang Shakti as an operational exercise rather than a showcase of military hardware.
“We do not get Tarang Shakti to demonstrate what we already know… but to discover what we still need to learn,” Dixit said.
Recent conflicts, including Operation Sindoor, he said, had highlighted the growing importance of precision, speed, integrated air defence, unmanned systems, information dominance, space-enabled capabilities and multi-domain operations. These are lessons that India has also drawn from its own recent military operations.
The multinational format will allow participating air forces to test operational assumptions and tactics alongside one another, while gaining an understanding of how different platforms, command structures and operating procedures can be integrated in a complex air environment.
Dixit said the exercise had three broad objectives – operational learning, greater interoperability and stronger partnerships.
“The central story is people – air warriors, the airmen, the airwomen, and countless technicians from different countries. They will be working together, learning together, flying together,” he said.
He also stressed that India’s push for self-reliance in defence production was not at odds with international military cooperation.
“Atmanirbharta and international cooperation are not contradictory. They complement each other,” he said.
With the F-35, Rafale, F-16, Su-30MKI and Tejas expected to operate in the same multinational exercise, Tarang Shakti 2026 will provide the IAF with an opportunity to train alongside some of the world’s most advanced air forces while simultaneously presenting India’s expanding indigenous aerospace and defence capabilities to international partners.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
