Tarang Shakti 2026 Begins: F-35 Joins IAF Drill | CLAT GK

CURRENT AFFAIRS | 26 SEPTEMBER 2026

The second edition of Exercise Tarang Shakti, India’s largest multinational air exercise, begins on 26 September 2026 at Air Force Station Jodhpur and adjoining air bases, and will run until 12 October 2026. According to All India Radio’s News on AIR report of 22 September, which carried the Indian Air Force’s announcement, eight friendly foreign countries — Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Greece, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the United States — will take part with their own air assets, while 32 countries will attend as observers. The Indian Express carried the start of the exercise on its front page on 26 September, quoting the IAF that the exercise will bring global air forces together for “high-octane joint tactical manoeuvres”.

The headline feature of this edition is the arrival of the United States Air Force’s F-35 Lightning II, a fifth-generation stealth fighter. Reports in The Week and other outlets note that this will be the first time the IAF exercises alongside the F-35. France is fielding Rafale fighters, the UAE its F-16s, and Bangladesh a C-130J transport aircraft. On the Indian side the line-up is expected to include Rafale, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, Tejas, MiG-29 and Su-30MKI fighters, supported by airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, transport planes and air-to-air refuelling tankers.

For a CLAT aspirant, Tarang Shakti is a textbook current-affairs item: it has a name, a host, an edition number, dates, a participant list, a “first-time” element and a static background. It also opens a wider discussion on defence diplomacy — the use of military cooperation to build trust, interoperability and strategic partnerships — which regularly surfaces in the GK section of the exam.

What the exercise will do

Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, the Vice Chief of Air Staff, described the purpose of the exercise in these words, as reported by News on AIR: “Tarang Shakti 2026 is about learning from each other, operating with each other, and preparing for the air warfare challenges of tomorrow.” The stated focus areas are counter-air operations, air defence, force combat, reconnaissance, airlift, air-to-air refuelling and multinational joint combat operations in contemporary battlespace scenarios.

Each of these terms has a precise meaning. Counter-air operations aim to gain control of the air by destroying or neutralising an adversary’s aircraft and missiles — offensively, by striking them at source, or defensively, by intercepting them. Air-to-air refuelling extends the range and endurance of fighters and is a force-multiplier that only a handful of air forces practise at scale. AEW&C aircraft act as flying radar stations, building a picture of the airspace and directing fighters. When several air forces fly together, the real test is interoperability: common procedures, compatible communications and a shared language of tactics. That is the core value of a large multinational exercise.

Why hosting matters

For decades the IAF built its multinational experience largely by travelling abroad — to exercises such as Red Flag in the United States, Pitch Black in Australia and Garuda with France. Hosting reverses that flow. When foreign air forces come to India, the IAF sets the scenarios, controls the airspace, showcases its infrastructure and indigenous platforms such as the Tejas light combat aircraft, and practises the demanding logistics of receiving, basing and supporting foreign aircraft. In the language of international relations, this is a shift from being a participant to being a convening power.

The composition of the participant list is itself telling. It includes Quad partners (the United States and Australia), major European partners (France, Germany and Greece), a Gulf partner (the UAE) and two South Asian neighbours (Bangladesh and Sri Lanka). The presence of 32 observer nations widens the diplomatic footprint far beyond those flying. Such breadth serves India’s stated aim of being a trusted security partner across the Indo-Pacific while keeping its partnerships diversified.

The F-35 moment

The F-35 Lightning II, built by the American firm Lockheed Martin, is a fifth-generation fighter — a category defined by stealth (a very low radar signature), advanced sensor fusion and networked operations. Training against, or alongside, such an aircraft gives pilots and air-defence controllers exposure to how a low-observable platform behaves in a shared battlespace. The Week reported that two to three F-35s are expected. Its appearance at Jodhpur is therefore significant both operationally and symbolically, reflecting the depth of India–US defence cooperation. Students should, however, keep a clear distinction: taking part in an exercise with an aircraft is not the same as acquiring it, and no procurement decision is implied by the exercise.

Defence diplomacy in context

Military exercises are one of several instruments of defence diplomacy, alongside defence attaché networks, training exchanges, joint development and defence exports. They build what analysts call “habits of cooperation”: when air forces have flown together, they are better able to coordinate during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), evacuation operations or crisis response. Airlift and refuelling, both listed focus areas this year, are precisely the capabilities that matter in HADR missions.

Hosting a large exercise also carries a strategic-communication function. It signals capability to partners and to potential adversaries, and it demonstrates the maturity of the host’s bases, air-traffic management and support services. The consolidation of the 2026 edition at one hub, compared with the two-phase format of 2024, suggests the IAF is refining the model after its first run — a sign that Tarang Shakti is meant to become a recurring fixture rather than a one-off event.

Analysis: what to watch

Three questions will shape how this edition is judged. First, scale and complexity: large-force employment missions, in which dozens of aircraft from different nations fly a single coordinated package, are the true test of interoperability. Second, the integration of fifth-generation and fourth-generation aircraft, since most participating air forces, including the IAF, operate largely fourth-generation fleets. Third, the observer outreach: with 32 observer nations, the exercise also functions as a showcase for India’s aerospace ecosystem and indigenous platforms.

There are limits worth noting. Exercises are scripted; they build familiarity rather than alliances, and India’s long-standing policy of strategic autonomy means it does not treat any exercise as a treaty commitment. That is the balanced reading an examiner expects: Tarang Shakti deepens partnerships and professional exchange without changing India’s non-aligned approach to formal military alliances.

In sum, Tarang Shakti 2026 is best read as a statement of intent: India is building a regular, India-hosted platform where a wide spectrum of partners — from the United States and Europe to the Gulf and South Asia — can train together. For the exam, the essentials are the edition, the venue, the dates, the eight participants, the 32 observers and the F-35 first. For the essay-minded aspirant, the deeper theme is how a middle power uses military cooperation to widen its partnerships while guarding its autonomy.