IAF to exercise with US F-35s for first time at Tarang Shakti 2026

Jodhpur: The Indian Air Force will exercise with US F-35 stealth fighters for the first time during Tarang Shakti 2026, IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said on September 22, confirming the participation of the fifth-generation fighter in the multinational exercise. The second edition of Tarang Shakti will be held at Jodhpur from September 26 to October 12.

“For the first time, we are going to exercise with the F-35. It is coming,” Dixit said at a media briefing in New Delhi. He added that operational details of the F-35 deployment would not be disclosed for operational-security reasons. The US is expected to field two to three F-35s, while France will participate with Rafales and the UAE with F-16s.

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The exercise will bring together a wide range of Indian combat and support aircraft, including the Rafale, Su-30MKI, Tejas, Mirage 2000, Jaguar and MiG-29, along with airborne early warning and control aircraft, transport platforms and air-to-air refuelling tankers. Foreign support aircraft will also participate, including A400M, A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport and C-130 aircraft.

For the IAF, the F-35 participation is significant primarily as an operational learning opportunity. The aircraft had previously appeared in India during Aero India, but Tarang Shakti will provide the first opportunity for the IAF to train alongside the US fifth-generation fighter in an operational exercise environment.

Dixit said the changing character of warfare has increased the importance of precision weapons, integrated air and missile defence, unmanned systems, information dominance, space-enabled capabilities and multi-domain operations. He said lessons from Operation Sindoor had reinforced the importance of intelligence-led operations, precision, counter-UAS capabilities and jointness across domains.

Tarang Shakti is designed to build interoperability by enabling personnel from different air forces to plan, operate and train together. The IAF has invited 65 friendly foreign countries, while seven countries—the US, France, Germany, Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the UAE—are participating with air assets in the exercise. Air chiefs or their equivalents from 10 countries are also expected to attend.

The exercise builds on the first Tarang Shakti in 2024, which involved 11 countries with air assets and generated 867 sorties and more than 1,180 flying hours across its two phases. The 2026 edition is intended to move beyond simply demonstrating existing capabilities towards identifying operational lessons and areas where participating forces can improve interoperability.

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Dixit summed up the approach by saying: “We do not conduct Tarang Shakti to demonstrate what we already know. We conduct it to discover what we still need to learn.”

The exercise also provides India an opportunity to showcase its growing indigenous aerospace capabilities, including Tejas, sensors, weapons and unmanned systems, to international partners. With the F-35, Rafale, F-16, Su-30MKI and Tejas operating in the same multinational training framework, Tarang Shakti 2026 will offer the IAF exposure to different fighter philosophies, operational doctrines and support architectures in a common exercise environment.

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