U.S. F-35 Stealth Fighters to Train With Indian Air Force in India for First Time During Major Exercise.

U.S. Air Force F-35A stealth fighters are set to make their most consequential training appearance yet with the Indian Air Force when Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 opens at Jodhpur on September 26. According to the IAF briefing and subsequent reporting, the jets are expected to fly alongside Indian combat aircraft and could also feature in opposing-force scenarios, giving IAF pilots their first home-soil tactical exposure to fifth-generation airpower.

Operating with Indian Rafales, Su-30MKIs and Tejas fighters, the F-35A will bring a markedly different combat architecture into the exercise, combining low observability, sensor fusion, advanced situational awareness and networked operations. For the IAF, the real value lies in understanding how fifth-generation tactics can reshape detection, coordination and decision-making as stealth aircraft assume a larger role across the Indo-Pacific.

Related Topic: China’s J-20 Stealth Fighter Deployment Near India Reflects a Shifting Himalayan Airpower Landscape

U.S. Air Force F-35 stealth fighters will join Indian Air Force combat aircraft at Tarang Shakti 2026 in Jodhpur, giving IAF crews rare operational exposure to fifth-generation air combat capabilities (Picture Source: Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace)

On September 22, 2026, the Indian Air Force confirmed a landmark first as U.S. F-35 stealth fighters prepare to deploy to India for Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026. The aircraft are expected to conduct realistic tactical training with IAF fighters from Indian soil, giving Indian crews their first direct home-soil exposure to fifth-generation airpower in a multinational combat-training environment. The development carries wider strategic relevance as stealth, advanced sensors, electronic warfare and networked operations become increasingly central to air combat across the Indo-Pacific. IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit confirmed the F-35’s participation, while The New Indian Express and other Indian media reported additional details on the expected training missions.

Inside the IAF’s First Fifth-Generation Training Experience

For the IAF, the significance of the F-35 deployment goes far beyond the presence of one of the world’s most sophisticated combat aircraft over Indian airspace. F-35s have appeared at Aero India before, and Indian fighters have operated in multinational exercises where the type was also present, but Tarang Shakti 2026 will represent the first time the IAF trains with the aircraft in an Indian-hosted tactical setting. Indian reporting indicates that the F-35s are expected to operate alongside IAF combat aircraft and may also be assigned opposing-force roles in simulated missions, although the detailed exercise profile remains undisclosed. Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit has confirmed the central milestone: Indian crews will, for the first time, train with the F-35 on home soil in a structured operational exercise environment.

The value of that exposure lies in the fact that fifth-generation airpower is built around far more than reduced radar visibility. The U.S. Air Force describes the F-35A as integrating low observability, sensor fusion, advanced avionics, enhanced situational awareness and secure data-sharing into a single combat system. In realistic training conditions, that combination can challenge pilots, controllers and mission planners to operate against a battlespace shaped by stealth, distributed sensing, electronic warfare and rapid information exchange. For the IAF, the exercise could provide a rare opportunity to examine how detection, tracking, command-and-control and coordination between fighters, airborne early-warning assets and ground-based systems must evolve when confronting increasingly sophisticated and networked aerial threats.

A New Indo-Pacific Testbed for High-End Air Combat

t. China has operationally fielded the J-20 while continuing development of the J-35 family, expanding the relevance of low-observable aircraft, advanced sensors and networked operations to India’s future air-combat planning. Tarang Shakti has not been publicly characterized as an exercise directed against China, and the F-35 should not be treated as a technical surrogate for Chinese stealth platforms. Its value is instead as a live fifth-generation reference point: operating alongside, and potentially against, the F-35A could expose IAF crews to the practical effects of low observability, sensor fusion, electronic warfare and accelerated kill-chain decision-making in ways that conventional fighter training cannot fully replicate. For India, that experience could be particularly valuable as it considers how its existing fighter force will detect, coordinate against and operate in an air battlespace increasingly shaped by fifth-generation systems.

The multinational architecture of Tarang Shakti broadens that opportunity beyond the F-35 alone. Official Indian information confirms that the exercise will run from September 26 to October 12 at Air Force Station Jodhpur and adjoining bases, bringing together air assets from Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Greece, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, with another 32 nations attending as observers. Participating forces will train across counter-air, air defence, reconnaissance, airlift, air-to-air refuelling and other complex mission sets intended to replicate multinational operations in a contemporary battlespace. With U.S. F-35s expected to operate alongside aircraft including French Rafales, UAE F-16s and Indian Rafales, Su-30MKIs and Tejas fighters, the exercise will provide an unusually diverse environment for testing interoperability, tactical integration and the ability of different generations of combat aircraft to operate within the same high-end air campaign.

This may be the most important dimension of the F-35's arrival. Future air warfare across the Indo-Pacific is increasingly likely to depend on the ability to combine sensors, fighters, electronic warfare assets, unmanned systems, airborne command platforms and long-range weapons into a coherent operational network. Tarang Shakti gives India an opportunity to test interoperability with technologically diverse air forces while gaining first-hand familiarity with fifth-generation operations, without implying that participation constitutes an F-35 procurement decision or a change in India's defence policy. The exercise can instead be viewed as part of the IAF's broader effort to understand emerging air-combat technologies, improve multinational operational coordination and prepare its force for an increasingly complex aerial battlespace.

When the U.S. F-35s take to the skies from India during Tarang Shakti 2026, the real milestone will not simply be the first appearance of the aircraft in an IAF-hosted tactical exercise. The greater value will lie in placing Indian pilots, sensors, command systems and operational concepts in direct contact with fifth-generation airpower under demanding multinational training conditions. As China continues to operate the J-20 and develop the J-35 family, exposure to low-observable aircraft can provide relevant experience for an Indo-Pacific air environment increasingly shaped by stealth, electronic warfare, information dominance and networked operations. Tarang Shakti represents more than another multinational drill: it offers the IAF an opportunity to learn from fifth-generation capabilities firsthand while strengthening interoperability and retaining full control over India's future force-development choices.

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Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group

Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.