BD to join multinational air drill in India

Bangladesh will participate in the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) multinational air exercise Tarang Shakti-26 in India with a C-130J transport aircraft.

The exercise will be held in Jodhpur from 26 September to 12 October, with around 40 countries expected to participate.

India, Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Sri Lanka, the UAE and the US will participate with aircraft in the second edition of the exercise.

The drills will bring together advanced combat aircraft, including US F-35s, French Rafales and UAE F-16s, alongside transport and other air assets.

Participating air forces will conduct joint aerial operations, tactical training and interoperability drills, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Vice Chief of the Indian Air Staff, said at a press conference in New Delhi on 22 September.

The participating forces will train in tactical operations in a contemporary battlespace, he said.

The first edition was held in August-September 2024, with 11 countries taking part. It featured 45 aircraft, which conducted 76 missions, generated 867 sorties and logged more than 1,180 flying hours.

“For many years, IAF’s operational engagement with foreign air forces was largely confined to bilateral exercises,” Dixit said. “But Tarang Shakti changed that approach. In 2024, we brought multiple air forces together for the first time in a large multinational air exercise hosted by the Indian Air Force.”