America is participating in the exercise with its F-35. This will be the first time that F-35 is taking part in any military exercise in India. Earlier, F-35 had joined Aero India for the first time.
Indian Air Force Vice Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said that no, not for the first time. We have previously exercised with countries operating the F-35 and participated in exercises conducted with them. According to my memory, two-three such exercises have taken place. Yes, this is the first time in India.
Referring to the fifth generation fighter jet, he said, “As far as the fifth generation fighter aircraft is concerned, there are two aspects to it. First, we are developing our fifth generation fighter aircraft. For this we also have the necessary support systems, skills and technical capability. The second aspect is that through the development of this capability, we are also developing the necessary expertise. I believe this is the more important aspect.”
A total of 7 countries are participating in this exercise with their aircraft, which includes America, Australia, UAE, France, Germany, Sri Lanka as well as Bangladesh. Apart from this, 32 countries are joining as observers.
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said that 65 countries were invited. These have been selected on the basis of the specific construct of the exercise. These countries have been selected according to this construct. We will have a certain level of inter-operability with the air forces of the friendly countries participating in the exercise. Therefore, the exercise structure has been prepared accordingly.
He said that we will take advantage of the partnership of these countries and the capabilities they bring. Generally some countries are not part of this particular construct. We do separate exercises with those countries, but they are not part of this exercise.
This exercise is being conducted at Jodhpur Airbase from 26 September to 12 October. In this exercise, which will last for more than two weeks, fighter aircraft of friendly countries will conduct joint maneuvers with the Indian Air Force near the Pakistan border.
Countries and aircraft involved in the exercise this year
US: 6 F-35, 2 KC-135
Australia: 1 C-130
Bangladesh: 1 C-130
France: 7 Rafale, 3 A400M, 2 MRTT
Germany: 2A 400M
India: Rafale, Su-30 MKI, LCA, Jaguar, Mirage, MiG-29
Sri Lanka: 1 King Air 350
UAE: 6 F-16, 1 Global 6000
Earlier, the Indian Air Force had started its largest multinational air military exercise 'Tarang Shakti' in the year 2024. The first edition of Tarang Shakti was conducted in two phases. The first phase was held at Sulur Airbase in Tamil Nadu and the second phase was held at Jodhpur Airbase in Rajasthan.
France's Rafale, Germany, Spain and Britain's Eurofighter Typhoon fighter aircraft participated in the first phase held at Sulur airbase. At the same time, almost all the major platforms of the Indian Air Force, Rafale, Sukhoi, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, Tejas, MiG-29 and Prachanda, had demonstrated their operational capability.
The second phase was held in Jodhpur. A total of 27 fighter aircraft including Australia's EA-18G Growler, Greece's F-16, United Arab Emirates (UAE) F-16 and America's A-10 and F-16 participated in this phase. Apart from this, two air-to-air refuellers, two airborne early warning and control systems (AWACS) and three special forces aircraft also formed part of the exercise.