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Watch: India's Tejas, French Rafale, US' F-35 and Russian-made Sukhoi fly together at Tarang Shakti
More than 80 Indian and foreign aircraft and around 1,500 personnel, including aircrew, technicians and ground staff, are participating in Tarang Shakti.
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India’s indigenously manufactured Tejas light combat aircraft, France’s Rafale, the US’ F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter and Russian-made Sukhoi jets flew together in a single formation during Tarang Shakti, the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) largest multilateral air combat exercise.
A video originally shared by the IAF on X showed the fighter jets flying in formation during the drills.
Foreign aircraft taking part in Tarang Shakti
More than 80 Indian and foreign aircraft and around 1,500 personnel, including aircrew, technicians and ground staff, are participating in Tarang Shakti in Jodhpur, officials aware of the matter told HT earlier.
India’s Tarang Shakti has drawn participation from seven other air forces, with aircraft and other air assets from the US, France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka taking part.
The exercise has also drawn 32 observer nations, including Brazil, Egypt, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam.
The foreign aircraft involved in the drills include F-35s, F-16s, Rafales, A400Ms, A330 MRTTs (multi-role tanker transports), KC-135s, C-130s and other specialised platforms. They are flying alongside the IAF’s Sukhoi-30s, Rafales, Jaguars, Mirage-2000s, MiG-29s, LCA Mk-1s, Mi-35s, Mi-17s and IL-78 refuellers.
Notably, this is the first time F-35 fifth-generation fighter jets have participated in an exercise in India.
The drills also include visual-range and beyond-visual-range combat missions, engagements involving high-value aerial assets, air mobility operations, dynamic targeting, air-to-air refuelling and combat search and rescue missions.
India’s defence manufacturing prowess on display
The visiting air forces were also briefed at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in Bengaluru. They will also visit the C295 production line in Vadodara, giving them an opportunity to see India's defence capabilities and progress in domestic manufacturing.
India is shifting its focus from simply purchasing defence equipment from other countries to developing, manufacturing and exporting its own products, IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit had said earlier.
“Tarang Shakti provides an opportunity for our partners to see the growing capabilities of the Indian aerospace and defence industry—our indigenous platforms, sensors, weapons, unmanned systems and technologies. For us, Atmanirbharta and international cooperation are not contradictory. They complement each other. The stronger our indigenous capability, the more meaningful our engagement with the world becomes,” Dixit added.
India aims to raise its defence exports to ₹50,000 crore by 2029-30. Defence exports reached a record ₹38,424 crore in 2025-26, marking a 63% increase from ₹23,622 crore in the previous financial year.
The country’s defence exports include missiles, artillery guns, rockets, armoured vehicles, offshore patrol vessels, personal protective gear, radars, surveillance systems, ammunition, components, and systems and sub-systems.
