The IAF will host a mega exercise involving air forces of several countries next year instead of staging it this year in October. The decision to postpone the drill till next year was taken after some countries expressed inability to take part in it this year.
The exercise named ‘Tarang Shakti’ is now likely to be held in the middle of 2024 as a number of participating air forces conveyed to the IAF that they will not be able to join the war game if it is held this year, sources in the defence and military establishment said on Wednesday.
The exercise is expected to witness participation of around 12 air forces and the focus of the war game will be to improve military cooperation and enhance interoperability, they said. It will be the biggest air exercise being organised in India.
Air forces of France, the UK, Australia, the US and Japan will participate in the exercise. Six countries will participate in the Tarang Shakti with their aerial assets like fighter jets, military transport aircraft and mid-air refuellers while six other nations were invited as observers, the sources said.
In the last few months, the Indian Air Force has participated in a number of major overseas exercises. In April, the Indian Air Force sent four Rafale jets, two C-17 aircraft and two IL-78 mid-air refuellers for a nearly three-week multinational air exercise at France's Mont-de-Marsan military base.
Four Rafale fighter aircraft carried out a "strategic" mission last month over the Indian Ocean region for more than six hours, in a significant demonstration of their long-range combat capabilities.