India's Tarang Shakti 2026 Air Exercise Begins in Jodhpur with US F35 Debut

India’s second edition of the multinational air exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 has commenced at Air Force Station Jodhpur in Rajasthan, bringing together advanced combat aircraft from India, the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates and other participating countries.

The exercise began on September 26 and will continue until October 12, with the operational flying phase scheduled to get underway from September 28. The exercise is aimed at improving the ability of participating air forces to plan and conduct multinational combat operations in a realistic contemporary battlespace.

A major feature of this year's exercise is the first participation of US Air Force F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation stealth fighters in a military exercise on Indian soil. A batch of F-35s has arrived at Jodhpur, marking their debut in Tarang Shakti. The aircraft had previously appeared in India during Aero India events, but had not participated in a military exercise in the country.

The US contingent is reported to include six F-35 aircraft, accompanied by more than 200 US personnel. Their participation provides Indian and other participating air forces an opportunity to conduct training alongside one of the world's most advanced operational fifth-generation fighter platforms.

The exercise also features French Rafale fighters and UAE F-16s, while the Indian Air Force is participating with a broad range of frontline and support platforms, including the Su-30MKI, Tejas, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, airborne early-warning and control aircraft, transport aircraft and air-to-air refuelling tankers.

According to Indian Air Force information, eight friendly foreign countries — Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Greece, Sri Lanka, the UAE and the United States — are participating with air assets, while 32 additional countries are attending as observers. This brings the overall international participation to about 40 countries.

The participating air forces will train across a wide range of missions, including counter-air operations, air defence, force employment, reconnaissance, airlift, air-to-air refuelling and other complex air operations. The exercise is intended to expose participating forces to different operational concepts and help them develop tactics and procedures for joint missions.

Indian Air Force Vice Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit has described Tarang Shakti as an effort to move beyond traditional bilateral exercises by bringing several foreign air forces together in a single operational environment. He said the exercise would provide opportunities for the participating forces to learn from one another, operate together and prepare for emerging challenges in air warfare.

The 2026 edition follows the first Tarang Shakti exercise held in 2024, when multiple foreign air forces participated in two phases conducted at Sulur in Tamil Nadu and Jodhpur. According to the IAF, the 2024 exercise involved 11 countries with air assets, 45 aircraft and more than 800 sorties.

The presence of the F-35 alongside aircraft such as the Rafale, F-16, Su-30MKI and Tejas makes Tarang Shakti 2026 a significant multinational air-training event. The exercise is focused primarily on operational learning, interoperability and joint tactical training, rather than demonstrating the performance of any single aircraft in isolation.

With the exercise continuing through October 12, participating air forces are expected to conduct a series of increasingly complex flying and tactical activities from Jodhpur and associated air bases, providing opportunities to practise coordination among different aircraft types, command structures and operational doctrines.