The Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom joined the Indian Air Force (IAF) and counterparts from Germany, Spain, and France in the first phase of the IAF's maiden multilateral exercise, Tarang Shakti, on Tuesday.
The exercise is being conducted in two phases, first in Tamil Nadu's Sulur and second in Rajasthan's Jodhpur, which aim to showcase India's defence prowess and provide a platform for participating militaries to foster coordination
German Air Force is conducting joint training exercises with the Indian Air Force for the first time, said German Ambassador to India, Philipp Ackermann on Tarang Shakti-2024, which is set to begin at Air Force Station Sulur in Tamil Nadu on August 6.
The French contingent will comprise three Rafale fighter jets, one Multirole Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft and one A400M, with a total of 160 Air Force personnel.
Phase one of the exercise will be in Sulur from August 6-14 with Germany, France, Spain and the UK taking part. US, Greece and many other countries will start to exercise the second phase in Jodhpur from September 1-14
The Defence officials told ANI that Exercise Tarang Shakti, which had originally been planned for the latter part of this year, has been rescheduled and will be held next year.
In a major step towards proving its ability to hold large-scale aerial operations, the Indian Air Force is going to hold a major multilateral exercise codenamed 'Exercise Tarang Shakti' in October-November this year in which 10-12 top air powers of the world would participate.