The Indian Air Force will exercise with the United States Air Force’s F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighter for the first time during Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026, Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit confirmed at a media briefing on Tuesday.
The second edition of the multinational air exercise will be conducted at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 26 September to 12 October 2026. Seven foreign air forces those of the United States, France, Germany, Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates will participate with aircraft, while around 40 countries are expected to take part as participants or observers. Invitations were extended to 65 friendly foreign countries.
Air Marshal Dixit said the F-35’s appearance in Tarang Shakti would mark a distinct operational step from earlier visits to India. “For the first time, we are going to exercise with the F-35. It is coming. It has come to India earlier. It was part of Aero India, and then it got stuck in Trivandrum. Now we will exercise with it,” he told reporters. He added that operational details of the aircraft’s employment may remain limited after the exercise because of security considerations.
The F-35 took part in Aero India 2025. Its role in Tarang Shakti 2026 will be its first tactical participation in an Indian-hosted military exercise. Media accounts of the size of the US contingent vary; some reports place the deployment at two to three aircraft with KC-135 tankers, while others refer to a larger F-35 package. The Vice Chief confirmed participation rather than a public inventory figure.
The IAF will field front-line combat aircraft including the Rafale, Mirage-2000, Jaguar, Tejas, MiG-29 and Su-30MKI, together with support assets such as airborne early-warning aircraft and IL-78 tankers. Foreign platforms expected in the exercise include the US F-35A and KC-135, French Rafale fighters with A400M and Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft, UAE F-16s, a Bangladeshi C-130J, German A400M aircraft and an Australian C-130J.
Officials have described the flying programme as high-intensity joint tactical manoeuvres, covering within- and beyond-visual-range combat, large-force engagements, air interdiction, dynamic targeting, air-to-air refuelling and combat search and rescue.
Air Marshal Dixit framed the exercise as a continuation of the shift begun in 2024, when the IAF first assembled multiple foreign air forces in a single hosted event rather than relying primarily on bilateral drills. In the inaugural edition, 11 countries participated with air assets; 45 aircraft flew 76 missions and generated more than 800 sorties across two phases. “We now want to build on that experience, making Tarang Shakti 26 the next logical step,” he said. About ten air chiefs or officers of equivalent rank are expected to attend.
The Vice Chief also linked the exercise to changing operational demands. He said recent conflicts had underlined the importance of precision, integrated air defence, unmanned systems, information dominance, space-enabled capabilities and multi-domain operations.
He added that Tarang Shakti 2026 would allow India to present the expanding capabilities of its aerospace and defence industry to partner air forces, arguing that self-reliance and international collaboration reinforce rather than contradict each other.
The opening ceremony is scheduled for 26 September. Associated events include public and professional outreach during the two-week programme at Jodhpur.
