F-35 Flies From Indian Soil for the First Time as Tarang Shakti 2026 Opens in Jodhpur With Over 40 Nations

Jodhpur: The American F-35 Lightning II, the most widely deployed fifth-generation fighter in the world, is operating from Indian soil for the first time. The stealth jet's arrival headlines Tarang Shakti 2026, the second edition of the Indian Air Force's flagship multinational air exercise, which opened at Air Force Station Jodhpur on Friday, September 26, and runs through October 12 across the Rajasthan base and adjoining airfields.

Eight foreign air forces have brought combat and support aircraft to the exercise — Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Greece, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the United States — while 32 more nations are attending as observers, taking the total participation past 40 countries, according to the Indian Air Force. Air force chiefs from several of those nations are expected in Jodhpur over the coming fortnight.

The F-35 makes its Indian debut

The United States Air Force is deploying two to three F-35s for the exercise, ETV Bharat reported — the first time the American stealth fighter will fly missions directly from an Indian base rather than making a static appearance at an air show. The deployment to Jodhpur, an operational base close to India's western border, has been described in Indian media coverage as strategically and technically significant, giving IAF planners a rare opportunity to fly alongside — and against — a fifth-generation platform in Indian airspace.

France has committed seven Rafale fighters, four of them diverted from an overseas deployment, The Tribune reported, while the UAE has sent F-16s. The Indian Air Force is fielding its own Rafales and Sukhoi-30MKI fighters together with the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platforms, air-to-air refuelling tankers and transport aircraft.

'Preparing for the air warfare challenges of tomorrow'

Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit framed the exercise as an exchange rather than a display.

"Tarang Shakti 2026 is about learning from each other, operating with each other, and preparing for the air warfare challenges of tomorrow," Air Marshal Dixit said, according to Akashvani News, adding that the exercise showcases India's advancing aerospace capabilities.

The stated objective, per the IAF, is to expose all participants to the planning and execution of multinational joint combat operations. The flying programme covers counter-air operations, air defence, combat engagement, reconnaissance, airlift support and aerial refuelling — the full spectrum of missions a coalition air campaign would demand.

France, which has emerged as one of India's closest defence partners, was quick to underline the political weight of its participation.

"This exercise is quite important for us," said Julien Sabene, Deputy Commander of the French Air Defence and Air Operations Command, as quoted by The Tribune. "India is a global strategic partner of France, very important, and we want to show how committed we are."

The IAF, for its part, greeted the arriving contingents with characteristic warmth on social media: "A warm welcome to our friends from across the skies as they touch down at Jodhpur. Welcome to India. Welcome to Tarang Shakti."

From Sulur to Jodhpur: a bigger second edition

The inaugural Tarang Shakti was held in 2024, with its opening phase at Air Force Station Sulur in Tamil Nadu, and was conceived as India's answer to large Western coalition exercises — a chance to strengthen interoperability with partner air forces while putting Indian-made hardware in front of potential buyers. The 2026 edition doubles down on that showcase role: alongside the frontline fighters, indigenous weaponry, combat helicopters and support systems will be on display for visiting delegations, ETV Bharat reported.

The choice of Jodhpur is no accident. The base hosted the Indo-Japan bilateral exercise Veer Guardian and has become the IAF's preferred venue for high-profile international flying, with the Thar desert ranges offering large blocks of training airspace. For the visiting French contingent, the exercise also lands at a commercially sensitive moment: India is pursuing a plan to acquire 114 additional fighter jets, a competition in which Dassault Aviation's Rafale — already flown by both the IAF and the Indian Navy — is widely seen as a leading contender, as The Tribune noted in its coverage.

Why it matters

For India, the optics of Tarang Shakti 2026 are as important as the tactics. Hosting F-35s, Rafales and F-16s on the same flightline — flown by eight air forces from four continents — signals that New Delhi can convene the kind of multinational air power gathering that was once the preserve of exercises like Red Flag in the United States or Pitch Black in Australia. For the IAF's aircrew, the value is more concrete: dissimilar air combat training against aircraft and doctrines they would otherwise rarely encounter.

The exercise also gives the IAF a sustained look at fifth-generation operations at a time when India is weighing its own path to a stealth fighter through the indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme. Over the next two and a half weeks, the skies over Rajasthan will host one of the largest concentrations of foreign combat aircraft ever assembled in India — and every sortie will be studied closely.

Sources: This article draws on reporting by Akashvani News (News on AIR), The Tribune and ETV Bharat.