Seven Foreign Air Forces Flew With the IAF at Jodhpur in Tarang Shakti 2026, With 32 Observer Nations and US F-35s Making Their Exercise Debut in India

The Indian Air Force ran the second edition of its multinational exercise Tarang Shakti at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 26 September to 12 October 2026. The Ministry of Defence counts seven foreign air forces that took part with their aircraft (Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the United States) and 32 observer nations, under the theme “Power in Partnership”.

French Rafale fighters flew from Jodhpur, and so did US Air Force F-35A stealth fighters, which the US Embassy described as making “their exercise debut in India”. The Indian side put up the Tejas fighter and the Prachand light combat helicopter, both designed and built in India, alongside its Rafales and Su-30MKIs.

Seven air forces, and one disputed eighth

The Ministry of Defence release of 12 October names the seven “Friendly Foreign Countries” and the 32 observers, though it does not name the observers. The release of 10 October, issued when the Defence Minister addressed the participants, gives the same list. UNI’s report on the closing day also counts seven air forces and 32 observer nations.

Other outlets count eight. News On AIR’s curtain-raiser of 22 September lists Greece as an eighth country with air assets, and Drishti IAS, citing The Hindu, does the same. The Tribune’s report of 27 September says eight countries sent air assets but names only seven. None of the official releases opened for this article mentions a Greek contingent. Greece did fly in 2024: News On AIR’s report on that edition lists Greek F-16s among the aircraft at Jodhpur.

Which aircraft came from which country depends on the report. The Tribune’s report of 4 October, from ANI, lists the foreign types as the F-35 Lightning II, Rafale, F-16, A400M, MRTT tankers, C-130, C-130J and the KC-30A. ETV Bharat, in an article dated 26 September, assigns F-16s and a Global 6000 to the UAE, A400Ms to Germany, C-130J Hercules to Australia and Bangladesh, and a KA-360ER surveillance aircraft to Sri Lanka. The Indian Air Force flew the Rafale, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, Tejas, MiG-29 and Su-30MKI, according to The Week.

The exercise covered counter-air operations, air defence, reconnaissance, airlift and air-to-air refuelling, according to the Drishti IAS summary of The Hindu’s report. The Ministry of Defence says its purpose was to let aircrews plan and fly joint missions and compare how each force works.

The F-35 claim, checked

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, the Vice Chief of the Air Staff, told a Delhi briefing on 22 September: “For the first time, we are going to exercise with the F-35.” The Week and Outlook India both report the line, and Outlook adds that he said operational details would stay confidential.

Arrival was confirmed from the US side. In a post on X dated 26 September, US Ambassador Sergio Gor wrote that six F-35 Lightning IIs and more than 200 airmen were in India, the Tribune reports. Before the exercise, The Week had cited defence officials expecting two to three F-35s, so the count rose between the forecast and the arrival.

ANI’s report of 4 October says the jets are F-35As of the 13th Fighter Squadron, based at Misawa Air Base in Japan, and that US Air Force visuals showed them taking off from Jodhpur Air Force Station for joint training. The US Embassy’s post, quoted by Republic World, said the aircraft “bring new opportunities to train with the Indian Air Force and other partners.”

The word “first” needs a limit. The embassy’s claim is about an exercise in India, and the Tribune says the F-35 had been shown at air shows in Bengaluru but never came to India for a military exercise. The same Tribune report adds that the IAF flew alongside the F-35 at Pitch Black in Australia in July. What is new, on these accounts, is the F-35 flying from an Indian base.

At the concluding ceremony, Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh said the United States had made no formal offer to sell F-35s to India, Swarajya reports. It quotes him: “your people don’t even let us go near the aircraft, and you are talking about selling it to us.” Swarajya also says the F-35s stayed in a separate enclosure maintained only by US personnel. That detail comes from this one report.

A 40,000 km route that ended at Jodhpur

France treated Tarang Shakti as one leg of a longer mission. The French armed forces ministry describes Mission Pegase 26 as a 40-day deployment from 8 September to 15 October with about 300 airmen, four Rafale, three A330 MRTT Phenix tankers and two A400M Atlas transports. The route runs from Greenland through Canada, Alaska, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia to India, then on to Qatar, La Reunion and Egypt, more than 40,000 km in all.

The French deputy commander, Major General Julien Sabene, told The Week that seven Rafales would be available to fly with the IAF, more than the four the ministry lists for the mission. The Week quotes him: “we want to show how committed we are to working side by side with our partner.” France had also flown in the first Tarang Shakti in 2024. The partnership behind that continuity is covered in India and France: the strategic partnership.

What the Defence Minister said to the aircrews

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the participants at Jodhpur on 10 October. The Press Information Bureau release has him saying the IAF had grown from a force with limited resources at Independence into an aerospace power with advanced aircraft, precision weapons and increasingly indigenous technology. He listed the Tejas, the Dhruv, Rudra and Prachand helicopters, the Light Utility Helicopter, the Akash air defence system, AESA radars and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme, which he called a step towards mastering fifth-generation stealth fighter technology. The Tejas has its own history in the Tejas light combat aircraft from first flight to the Mk1A order book.

He said Atmanirbhar Bharat, the policy of self-reliance, does not mean isolation from the world, and that India wants to explore research, co-development, co-production, maintenance and training with like-minded countries. The release quotes him: “The defence relationships of the future will be about technology and trust, not just about platforms.” Of the exercise itself he said: “Different nations. Different aircraft. Different experiences. But one sky.”

The 12 October release ties the exercise to Operation Sindoor, saying the operation demonstrated the IAF’s ability to run precise, calibrated operations. Vice Chief Dixit made the same link at the 22 September briefing, according to The Week, saying the operation reinforced lessons on precision, integrated air and missile defence, counter-drone work and jointness. India’s own account of that operation is in Operation Sindoor, and the home-grown side of the industry is in how India’s defence industry went from importer to maker.

How the first edition in 2024 was laid out

The first Tarang Shakti ran in two phases in 2024. Phase one, at Sulur in Tamil Nadu, ended on 14 August 2024 with the German, French, Spanish and British air forces, according to the ANI report carried by ThePrint. Phase two moved to Jodhpur and ended on 14 September. News On AIR called it the largest multinational air exercise the IAF had hosted, and its list of foreign aircraft at Jodhpur that year included US F-16s, A-10s and KC-135s, UAE F-16s, Australian EA-18s, Japanese F-2s and Greek F-16s. No F-35 appears in that list.

The 2026 edition was held at Jodhpur, and none of the releases opened for this article mentions a second venue. Its seven-country flying roster overlaps only partly with 2024. Participant counts for 2024 vary by outlet, so this article makes no numeric comparison between the two editions.

Beyond the flying

The Ministry of Defence says the programme included industrial tours of Indian aerospace and defence manufacturers, professional engagements, yoga sessions, heritage visits and an International Night. ANI adds a seminar and the Sekhon Marathon to the list. The IAF’s Open Day drew more than 20,000 visitors, according to the 12 October release, which was issued as the IAF marked its 94th anniversary.