US F-35 fighters debut in Indian multinational air exercise Tarang Shakti

NEW DELHI — The U.S. Air Force’s F-35 fighter jets are joining a multinational air exercise hosted by India, marking the first time a fifth-generation fighter will participate in Indian air drills. The deployment will give the Indian Air Force and other participants direct exposure to operating alongside an advanced stealth aircraft.

The drills begin Saturday at the Jodhpur air base in Rajasthan state, approximately 200 kilometers from India’s border with Pakistan. Eight countries are participating, with 32 more attending as observers.

India, which does not operate a fifth-generation fighter aircraft, will deploy its major fighters in the combat drills, including:

• Rafales
• Su-30MKIs
• Tejas
• Mirage 2000

France is bringing Rafale jets, and the United Arab Emirates is bringing F-16s.

Strategic Context

At a time when India’s rival China is rapidly expanding its fleet of fifth-generation fighters, the exercise could provide the Indian Air Force with first-hand experience of tactical missions involving advanced stealth aircraft. It also offers insight into how such jets can integrate sensor data, operate as part of a networked force, and complicate detection by adversary radars.

Indian Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, said that as the character of warfare changes, the drills — named "Tarang Shakti" — will help participants prepare for the challenges "of tomorrow."

"We do not conduct Tarang Shakti to demonstrate what we already know. We conduct it to discover what we still need to learn," he told reporters on Wednesday. "Our partners bring their own operational experience. Bringing these together in a realistic training environment allows us to test assumptions, challenge procedures, understand different methods of employing air power and improve interoperability."

Defense Ties and Previous Deployments

The participation of F-35 stealth fighters in the Indian drills also underscores that defense ties between New Delhi and Washington remain steady, despite broader strains over trade disputes and India’s purchases of Russian oil.

While the U.S. stealth fighter has appeared twice at defense exhibitions in India, and the Indian Air Force operated alongside F-35s during joint exercises in Australia two years ago, the upcoming drill marks the first time the aircraft will undertake tactical missions with Indian fighters from an Indian airbase.

Dixit said the air force also intends to use the exercises to test lessons learned during India’s brief conflict with Pakistan in May last year, in which both countries deployed fighter jets.

Participating Nations

Besides the United States, France, and the UAE, other countries bringing air assets — including surveillance and transport aircraft — are:

• Germany
• Australia
• Bangladesh
• Sri Lanka
• Greece

Recent Bilateral Exercises

The drills follow India’s bilateral air exercises with Japan, in which Tokyo deployed its Mitsubishi F-2A fighter aircraft in India for the first time. That exercise, held from September 9–22, was seen as a signal of growing defense ties between New Delhi and Tokyo amid an assertive China in the Indo-Pacific.

"Our partnership has progressed beyond simply conducting exercises together to refining our tactical capabilities at a practical level," Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Takehiro Morita said on September 20 in Jodhpur, where the drill was conducted.

The multinational air drill starting Saturday will conclude on October 12.

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