NEW DELHI: The United States’ fifth-generation stealth fighter jet F-35 will for the first time take part in India’s multinational combat exercise as six of such jets will join the IAF-led exercise ‘Tarang Shakti 2026’, which is set to be hosted in Jodhpur from Sept 26 to Oct 12.Only three countries in the world — US (F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor), Russia (Su-57) and China ( Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-35)— possessed 5th-generation stealth fighters but it’s only the Lockheed Martin-manufactured F-35 that has been used extensively by the US and its allies in combat missions in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen.Addressing the media here on Tuesday, IAF Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said, “For the first time, we are going to exercise with the F-35. It is coming. It had come to India earlier. (Then) it was was part of Aero India, and then it (another UK-owned F35 jet) got stuck in Thiruvananthapuram. Now we will exercise with it.”Nearly 40 countries are participating or coming as observers in the second edition of ‘Tarang Shakti’ 2026, and seven countries are participating directly with their advanced aircraft and fighter assets, including US, France, UAE, Australia, Germany, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Besides F-35 jets, F-16s, Rafales, Su-30MKI, indigenous Tejas, A400ms, MRTTs, KC135s and other specialised platforms will join the multinational exercise.The IAF vice-chief said, “For many years, our operational engagement with foreign air forces was largely through bilateral exercises. We learnt to operate with one partner at a time. Tarang Shakti changed that approach. In 2024, we brought multiple air forces together for the first time. Across two phases, 11 countries participated with their air assets, with 45 aircraft undertaking 76 missions, generating more than 800 sorties. This year, invitations have been sent to 65 friendly foreign countries.”On delay in the delivery of Tejas Mk1A, the IAF vice-chief said, “Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has clarified that in the beginning, the delay was from the engine side (from GE). We could not get enough engines. Now we have got the engines, and installed them on the aircraft. We are doing proper and thorough testing before the aircraft is inducted. Two or three parts (radar and missile integration) are left to be proven and I think in a month or two, we should be able to overcome that technical issue. Thereafter, the road is clear for the aircraft to be inducted. We are also eagerly waiting for Tejas Mk1A.” HAL, which has to deliver 180 jets, recently clarified that it has 10 GE engines and 27 airframes of LCA MK1A ready.When asked about the Dubai Tejas air crash probe, Air Marshal Dixit said the investigation is still ongoing, saying investigators are waiting to get a “final technical analysis” of specific components before they can answer exactly what went wrong.
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