Tarang Shakti air exercise to begin in Jodhpur on September 26

The multi-nation air exercise Tarang Shakti will be held at the Indian Air Force base in Jodhpur from September 26 to October 11, with around 40 countries, including the US, France and Germany, expected to take part. IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said Operation Sindoor had given valuable takeaways and that tactics evolved during it would be reflected in the drills. The IAF is expected to field Rafale and Sukhoi-30MKI jets, while the American F-35 is likely to debut in a military exercise on Indian soil.

Written by AI from Times of India — Top · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 23 Sept 2026, 1:23 pm IST

Source

Times of India — Top · read the original report ↗

#tarang shakti#indian air force#operation sindoor#f-35#military exercise

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

Tarang Shakti will be held at the IAF base in Jodhpur from September 26 to October 11, with around 40 countries expected. — Figures and dates appear in the source; attributed to the IAF briefing, with participation described as expected.
Operation Sindoor gave the IAF valuable takeaways and its tactics will be reflected in the exercise. — Directly attributed to IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit.
The US F-35 will make its debut on Indian soil in a military exercise; IAF to field Rafale and Su-30MKI. — Source says F-35 participation is 'likely'/'expected'; hedged wording must be preserved.
Germany, UAE, Bangladesh, Australia and Sri Lanka will send air assets; 32 more countries will attend as observers. — Figure appears in source, attributed to IAF officials briefing on the exercise.
Layered air defence with S-400 and Akash proved critical against a foiled Pakistani aerial offensive. — Attributed to a report by the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi think tank.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

'Tarang Shakti' is a military drill, but politically it is also a stage on which India showcases its post-Operation Sindoor standing to the world. Roughly 40 participating countries and the likely debut of the American F-35 on Indian soil hand the government a powerful message: partners want to fly with India. At the same time, the IAF Vice Chief's own framing — that the exercise will test assumptions and challenge existing procedures — is a candid admission that the lessons of Sindour are still being absorbed, which gives the opposition an opening for scrutiny.

Putting Operation Sindoor's lessons on a multinational stage lets the government project defence credibility to both domestic and international audiences.
The F-35's first appearance in a military exercise in India will be read as a symbol of deepening India-US defence proximity, though the story links it to no procurement decision.
Participation by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka alongside the US, France and Germany strengthens India's hand in regional military diplomacy.
The cited assessment's flags on a shrinking fighter fleet and the need for stronger ground-based air defence are exactly the points opposition critics can turn into questions about procurement delays.
Hosting a drill of this scale from September 26 to October 11 keeps the national-security narrative in the public conversation for over two weeks.

What to watch — Watch how tightly the government ties the exercise to the Operation Sindoor success narrative, and whether the opposition counters by raising fighter-fleet shortfalls and procurement delays.

The story says F-35 participation is only 'likely', and it establishes no arms deal, alliance or policy shift — nor does it report any political party's reaction.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 4 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

Tarang Shakti is a multi-nation air exercise hosted by the Indian Air Force, with the next edition at the Jodhpur air base from September 26 to October 11. Around 40 countries, including the US, France and Germany, are expected to take part, making it one of the largest such drills hosted by the IAF since its strikes on Pakistani airbases last May under Operation Sindoor. IAF leaders say lessons and tactics from Operation Sindoor will be carried into the drills, while partner air forces bring their own combat experience. The US F-35 stealth fighter is likely to make its debut on Indian soil in a military exercise.

Key facts

Tarang Shakti will be held at the IAF base in Jodhpur from September 26 to October 11.
Around 40 countries, including the US, France and Germany, are expected to take part.
The US, France, Germany, the UAE, Bangladesh, Australia and Sri Lanka will send air assets; 32 more countries will participate as observers.
IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said Operation Sindoor gave the force valuable takeaways and its tactics would be reflected in the exercise.
The IAF is expected to field its Rafale and Sukhoi-30MKI fleets; the American F-35 will make its debut on Indian soil in a military exercise, having earlier featured only at aero-shows in Bengaluru.
The IAF has already flown alongside the F-35 during exercise Pitch Black in Australia in July.
Drills will cover large force engagements with high value aerial assets, air mobility operations, dynamic targeting and combat search and rescue missions.
An Observer Research Foundation report cited centralised command, distributed control and decentralised execution as a major strength in Operation Sindoor.

Timeline

Last MayIAF strikes on Pakistani airbases during Operation Sindoor; the operation involved targeting Pakistan's air defence and missile systems ahead of strikes on multiple airfields.
JulyIAF flies alongside the F-35 during exercise Pitch Black in Australia.
Ahead of the exerciseIAF Vice Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit addresses a press conference on the scope of Tarang Shakti.
September 26 to October 11Tarang Shakti multi-nation air exercise at the IAF base in Jodhpur.

Who has a stake

Indian Air Force — Hosts the exercise, tests assumptions and procedures from Operation Sindoor, and fields Rafale and Sukhoi-30MKI fleets.
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, IAF Vice Chief — Briefed on the exercise's scope; says Operation Sindoor tactics will be reflected and all possible scenarios should feature in the drill.
United States — Likely to fly the F-35 in a military exercise on Indian soil for the first time.
Participating air forces (France, Germany, UAE, Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka) — Send air assets and gain exposure across multiple facets of air operations and improved interoperability.
32 observer countries — Participate as observers, gaining exposure to the drills without deploying assets.
Observer Research Foundation — New Delhi-based think tank whose assessment flagged lessons from Operation Sindoor for future short, high-intensity conflicts.

Why it matters

The exercise lets India translate the operational lessons of Operation Sindoor into a multinational training environment, testing procedures and interoperability with around 40 air forces. Hosting advanced platforms such as the F-35 alongside Indian Rafale and Su-30MKI fleets also signals India's defence diplomacy reach and the IAF's push to modernise ahead of short, high-intensity conflicts.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Tarang Shakti: IAF-hosted multi-nation air exercise at Jodhpur, September 26 to October 11.
Participants sending air assets: US, France, Germany, UAE, Bangladesh, Australia, Sri Lanka; 32 countries as observers.
Exercise Pitch Black: Australia-hosted air exercise where the IAF flew alongside the F-35 in July.
Operation Sindoor: IAF strikes on Pakistani airbases last May; lessons include rapid adaptation and multi-domain capability.
Layered air defence platforms cited as critical in Operation Sindoor: S-400 and Akash.
Command model cited as a strength: centralised command, distributed control, decentralised execution (per ORF report).

Mains framing

Tarang Shakti at Jodhpur shows how India is converting recent combat experience into institutional learning and defence diplomacy. The assessment of Operation Sindoor flagged rapid adaptation, offensive action and stronger multi-domain capabilities as key lessons for short, high-intensity conflicts, along with the value of surprise, concentration of force and unity of command; the centralised command, distributed control and decentralised execution model was cited as a major strength, and layered air defence using the S-400 and Akash under integrated command-and-control proved critical against the Pakistani aerial offensive. Hosting around 40 countries, with the F-35 debuting on Indian soil in a military exercise, allows the IAF to test assumptions, challenge existing procedures and improve interoperability across large force engagements, air mobility, dynamic targeting and combat search and rescue, while the Vice Chief has indicated all possible scenarios, including drone warfare, should feature. The way forward, as flagged in the ORF report, lies in integrating remotely piloted aircraft into offensive operations, expanding stand-off weapon stocks, strengthening ground-based air defence and addressing the shrinking fighter fleet.

Key terms

Tarang Shakti: Multi-nation air exercise hosted by the Indian Air Force, this edition at Jodhpur from September 26 to October 11.
Operation Sindoor: Indian operation last May involving strikes on Pakistani airbases after targeting Pakistan's air defence and missile systems.
F-35: American fifth-generation stealth fighter, set to debut on Indian soil in a military exercise after earlier aero-show appearances in Bengaluru.
Interoperability: Ability of different air forces to operate together using common procedures, a stated aim of the exercise.
Stand-off weapons: Weapons fired from a distance outside enemy defences; the IAF plans to expand its stock, as per the ORF report.
Observer Research Foundation (ORF): New Delhi-based think tank whose report assessed the lessons of Operation Sindoor for the IAF.

Practice questions

Discuss how multinational air exercises such as Tarang Shakti contribute to India's operational readiness and defence diplomacy.
What lessons from Operation Sindoor have been identified for future short, high-intensity conflicts, and how can the IAF act on them?
Examine the role of layered air defence and integrated command-and-control in contemporary aerial warfare, with reference to recent Indian experience.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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