IAF to train with US F-35s for first time as Tarang Shakti brings 40 nations to Jodhpur

The Indian Air Force will train with the US Air Force’s F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters for the first time during Tarang Shakti 2026, with Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit Tuesday confirming their participation in India’s largest multinational air exercise.

The second edition of Tarang Shakti will be held at Air Force Station Jodhpur from September 26 to October 12, bringing together air forces and delegations from more than 40 countries. While the F-35 has previously been displayed in India at Aero India, Dixit said this would be the first time the aircraft would participate in an exercise with the IAF.

F-35 makes exercise debut

“We have never trained with the F-35 before. They had come for Aero India, but this will be the first time we will be training with them,” Dixit said at a curtain-raiser briefing for the exercise.

The participation will give IAF crews an opportunity to operate in a multinational training environment alongside one of the world’s most advanced fifth-generation combat aircraft. Dixit, however, indicated that specific details concerning the F-35’s participation and the nature of the training would not be disclosed because of operational security considerations.

The United States is expected to deploy two to three F-35s. France will participate with Rafale fighters, while the UAE will bring F-16s. Australia, Germany, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are among the other countries participating with aircraft, while several more nations will send delegations.

The IAF will field a broad range of frontline platforms, including the Rafale, Su-30MKI, Tejas, Mirage-2000 and Jaguar, along with transport aircraft, helicopters, airborne early warning and control platforms and air-to-air refuelling tankers.

Focus on interoperability

Tarang Shakti is designed to allow participating air forces to train together in complex operational scenarios, exchange tactical practices and improve interoperability. The exercise will involve joint planning and tactical missions involving fighter, transport and support aircraft.

The F-35’s participation is expected to be among the most closely watched elements of this year’s exercise. The stealth fighter, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, combines low-observable technology with advanced sensors, electronic warfare capabilities and networked operations.

For the IAF, the drills will offer experience in operating alongside a fifth-generation platform at a time when it is pursuing its own Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme and assessing requirements for strengthening its fighter fleet.

Second Tarang Shakti

India hosted the inaugural Tarang Shakti in 2024 in two phases at Sulur in Tamil Nadu and Jodhpur in Rajasthan. Eleven countries participated with aircraft in that edition, which involved around 45 aircraft and more than 800 sorties across the two phases.

The 2026 edition comes immediately after Exercise Veer Guardian, the bilateral India-Japan air exercise held at Jodhpur from September 9 to 22. Indian Rafale, Su-30MKI and Tejas fighters trained alongside Japan’s F-2 aircraft during those drills.

Tarang Shakti has emerged as the IAF’s flagship multinational exercise, combining operational training with military diplomacy and giving participating forces an opportunity to operate different aircraft and systems in a common environment.