US’s 5th-gen stealth fighter F-35 to take part in IAF’s multinational exercise 'Tarang Shakti'

NEW DELHI: The United States’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet F-35 will for the first time take part in the Indian Air Force’s multinational exercise ‘Tarang Shakti 2026’, which is set to be hosted in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur from Sept 26 to Oct 12.Though the F-35 had earlier participated in the Aero India show in Bengaluru, this will be the first time six multi-role US stealth fighter jets will make a debut in multinational ‘Tarang Shakti’ exercise, which started in 2024.At least 39 countries are participating or coming as observers in the second edition of Tarang Shakti 2026, and seven countries are participating directly with their advances aircraft and fighter assets, including the US, France, UAE, Australia, Germany, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Besides F-35, other fighter aircraft that will be part of the mega air exercise include Dassault Rafale, Sukhoi Su-30MKI, and indigenous Tejas and F-16 Fighting Falcon jets of UAE.In a post on Monday, IAF posted on X, “Exercise Tarang Shakti is back. Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 returns as India’s premier multinational air exercise, bringing global Air Forces together for high-octane joint tactical maneuvers. Stay tuned as elite aviators take to the skies!"The mega exercise is being conducted soon after ‘Veer Guardian’ — a bilateral air exercise that was conducted between Indian and Japanese air forces in Jodhpur from Sept 9-22. Japanese General Takehiro Morita, Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, became the first air force chief of any Asian country to fly in India’s made-in-India fighter aircraft LCA or Tejas when he and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh last Sunday participated in a formation sortie in Jodhpur as part of the ‘Exercise Veer Guardian-2026’. IAF chief did a solo sortie on a Tejas fighter and led the formation. General Takehiro Morita flew in a Tejas twin-seater trainer aircraft, with Gp Capt I Samrat, Commanding Officer of the Tejas Squadron, as the captain.During a joint press meet last Sunday, Japanese General Morita said, “I will remember it not only as a truly valuable experience, but also as a powerful symbol of trust, confidence, and friendship. Our partnership has progressed beyond simply conducting exercises together to refine our tactical capabilities at practical level. Japan and India share that common vision of a free and open in the Pacific”.