US F-35 stealth fighter to join air exercise in Rajasthan

The US F-35 multi-role stealth fighter jet, rated the most advanced aircraft in the world, will debut in India in the multi-nation air exercise ‘Tarang Shakti.’ The second edition of this exercise will be held at the Jodhpur Air Force Station from September 26 to October 12.

Seven foreign nations will participate in the prestigious multilateral drill, IAF said here on Tuesday.  The countries are the US, France, Germany, Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the UAE.

The hosts will showcase Rafale, Mirage-2000, Jaguar, Tejas, MiG-29 and Su-30 MKI, among other air assets, during the exercise, which aims to demonstrate the country’s defence prowess and provide a platform to foster interoperability, the IAF said in a briefing.

Among the global air forces, the US stealth fighter F-35, France’s Rafale, the UAE’s F-16 and Bangladesh’s C-130J will display their “high-octane joint tactical manoeuvres” over two weeks at the Jodhpur Air Force Station, the IAF said.  Though the F-35 had taken part in Aero India 2025, it would be on display at Exercise Tarang Shakti for the first time, officials said.

The mega exercise will take place soon after the Veer Guardian exercise – a bilateral air exercise between the air forces of India and Japan being held at the same venue from September 9-22.

The maiden edition of the exercise was held in 2024 in two phases – at Sulur, Tamil Nadu, and Jodhpur – in which fighter aircraft from the UK, Germany and France, among other nations, took part.

At the briefing on Tuesday, senior IAF officials made a PPT presentation on the exercise. Later, Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, briefed and interacted with media personnel.

“The scale and operational output of Tarang Shakti 2024 was significant. Across the two phases, 11 countries participated with their air assets, with 45 aircraft undertaking 76 missions, generating more than 800 sorties and over a thousand flying hours,” he said. “This year, invitations have been sent to 65 friendly foreign countries,” the IAF’s Vice Chief said.

He also shared details of the air assets of the participating countries. “The composition itself tells the story. We have F-35s, F-16s, Rafales, A400Ms, MRTTs, KC-135s and other specialised platforms,” he said.