THE INDIAN Air Force (IAF) will host the second edition of its largest-ever multinational air exercise, Tarang Shakti-26, beginning later this week in Jodhpur.Around 40 countries are expected to participate in the exercise, which will bring together a range of advanced combat aircraft, including the US F-35s, French Rafales and UAE F-16s, along with various other aerial assets, for joint aerial operations, tactical training and interoperability drills.The exercise, to be held between September 26 and October 12 at Air Force Station, Jodhpur, and adjoining air bases will see participation from eight forces — India, Australia, Bangladesh, France, the US, Germany, Sri Lanka and UAE.Also Read | India heard Pak President’s phone calls during 1971 war. This man made it happenThirty-two countries will attend the event as observers. Around 10 Air Chiefs or equivalents are likely to attend the exercise.The maiden edition of the exercise took place in August-September 2024 in two phases.India’s Rafale, Mirage-2000, Jaguar, Tejas, MiG-29, Su-30 MKI will participate in the exercise, along with the US’s F-35, France’s Rafale, the UAE’s F-16 and Bangladesh’s C-130J, besides other air assets.Explaining the criticality of the exercise, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit told mediapersons on Tuesday that Tarang Shakti has changed the earlier approach of having an operational engagement with foreign air forces largely through bilateral exercises.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Knowledge Nugget | From Yudh Abhayas to LAMITIYE: Know India’s 5 recent joint military exercisesTalking about the first edition of the exercise in 2024, when 11 countries participated with their air assets and covered a wide canvas of air operations, he said it was an important transition from exercises primarily being bilateral to planning, operating and integrating with multiple air forces simultaneously for the IAF.“So Tarang Shakti-26 is the next logical step,” he said.The exercise aims to analyse tactical employment philosophy against modern Air-to-Air and Surface-to-Air weapons, to enhance interoperability among the participating forces and to identify best practices in operations. It will involve Beyond Visual Range and within Visual Range combat missions, air mobility operations and dynamic targeting, air-to-air refuelling missions and combat search and rescue operations.Responding to questions about the exercise, Air Marshal Dixit emphasised that as the world changes rapidly and the nature of warfare evolves, recent conflicts have highlighted the critical importance of precision, integrated air defence, unmanned systems, information dominance, space-based capabilities and the ability to integrate these elements into multi-domain operations.Story continues below this adAlso Read | Rs 1.1 lakh crore military procurements cleared in boost for Army, Navy, Air Force“Operation Sindoor has reinforced many of these realities for us. It demonstrated the importance of intelligence-led operations, precision, integrated air and missile defence, counter-UAS, and jointness across domains.”“We do not conduct Tarang Shakti to demonstrate what we already know. We conduct it to discover what we still need to learn. Our operational experience, including Operation Sindoor, gives us lessons,” he said, adding: “Our partners bring their own operational experience. Bringing these together in a realistic training environment allows us to test assumptions, challenge procedures, understand different methods of employing air power and improve interoperability.”The exercise, he said, would also display India’s growing defence industry, including indigenous platforms, sensors, weapons and unmanned systems.Also Read | Flying High: Air Vice Marshal Shakti Sharma scripts history as highest-ranking woman IAF officer“Atmanirbharta and international cooperation are not contradictory. They complement each other,” he said.Story continues below this adHe said the central story here is people: air warriors, airmen, airwomen and countless technicians from different countries. “They will be working together, learning together, flying together.”Tarang Shakti-26, he said, has three aims: operational learning, greater interoperability and stronger partnerships. He said India is confident of its own capabilities, open to learning from its partners and prepared to cooperate with them.