Pariksha SaathiTarang Shakti 2026: Rajnath Singh Addresses IAF-Hosted Multinational Air Exercise at Jodhpur
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Air Force Station Jodhpur on 10 October 2026 to speak to the crews taking part in Tarang Shakti 2026, the second edition of the Indian Air Force's multinational air exercise (the first was held in 2024). The exercise ran from 26 September to 12 October, with seven foreign air forces flying alongside the IAF — Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Sri Lanka, the UAE and the USA — while 32 other countries attended as observers. Indigenous platforms, including the LCA Tejas fighter and the LCH Prachand attack helicopter, also took part. In his speech, Singh argued that future military strength will depend less on the number of platforms a country owns and more on how quickly it can sense, decide and act, and noted that warfare now extends to space, cyber and the electromagnetic spectrum besides land, sea and air. He called self-reliance in defence a national policy, while stressing that Atmanirbharta does not mean isolation, and cited the AMCA fifth-generation fighter programme. CDS General N. S. Raja Subramani, Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh and Navy chief Admiral Krishna Swaminathan attended.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
Tarang Shakti 2024 was the Indian Air Force's first-ever multinational air exercise that it hosted, held in two phases — at Sulur Air Force Station, Tamil Nadu, from 6 August 2024, and later at Jodhpur. The first phase brought together India, the UK's Royal Air Force, and the German, Spanish and French air forces; the Royal Air Force deployed six Eurofighter Typhoons, two Voyager tankers and an Atlas transport aircraft.
Check yourself: had the IAF hosted a major multinational air exercise before Tarang Shakti?
No. The UK government and the Royal Air Force both described Tarang Shakti 2024 as the IAF's maiden (first) multilateral/multinational air exercise.
Revision task: from this release, note this year's (2026) edition's dates, participating air forces and any new elements, and check how the Jodhpur leg described here compares with the first edition's two-phase Sulur-then-Jodhpur structure in 2024.
Test yourself
Tarang Shakti 2026 is the second edition of the Indian Air Force's multinational air exercise. In which year was the first edition held?
Show the answer
Answer: 2024
Tarang Shakti 2026 ran from 26 September to 12 October; the first edition was held in 2024. Seven foreign air forces flew alongside the IAF this time, and 32 other countries attended as observers.
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