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India to host its first multinational air exercise Tarang Shakti in August

The Indian Air Force’s first multinational air exercise, Tarang Shakti-2024, will be held in August, and is likely to see the participation of ten countries, in addition to a few others acting as observers.

“Enriched with the Red Flag exercise experience, the IAF keenly looks forward to hosting the participating contingents from other countries during Tarang Shakti-2024, which is the first ever Indian multinational air exercise to be held later this year,” the IAF said on Sunday in a statement on the just concluded Red Flag exercise hosted by the U.S. Air Force.

The plan is to invite friendly foreign countries with whom the IAF interacts regularly and has a certain degree of interoperability, officials said. Tarang Shakti was earlier planned to be held at the end of 2023, but got deferred.

The exercise is now scheduled to be held in two phases. The first will be held in southern India in the first two weeks of August and the second will be in the western sector from the end of August to mid-September, officials said. Some countries will participate in both phases, while others will join one of the two phases, it has been learnt.

Among the countries sending contingents are Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Germany will deploy fighter jets and also an A-400M transport aircraft, as reported by The Hindu earlier. The A-400M aircraft will be on showcase for the IAF, given that it is a contender for the open tender for medium transport aircraft.