US F-35 fighters to debut in Indian multinational air exercise

NEW DELHI — The U.S. Air Force’s F-35 fighter jets are joining a multinational air exercise hosted by India, bringing a fifth-generation fighter to Indian air drills for the first time and giving the Indian Air Force and other participants direct exposure to operating alongside an advanced stealth aircraft.

The drills get underway Saturday at the Jodhpur air base in Rajasthan state, which lies about 200 kilometers from India’s border with Pakistan. Eight countries are participating and 32 more are attending as observers.

India does not have a fifth-generation fighter aircraft. It will deploy its major fighters such as Rafales, Su-30MKIs, Tejas and the Mirage 2000 in the combat drills. France is bringing Rafale jets and the United Arab Emirates is bringing F-16s.

At a time when India’s rival China is rapidly expanding its fleet of fifth-generation fighters, the exercise could give the Indian Air Force a first-hand experience of tactical missions with advanced stealth aircraft and gain insight into how such jets can integrate sensor data, operate as part of a networked force and complicate detection by adversary radars.

Indian vice chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, said as the character of warfare changes, the drills, named “Tarang Shakti,” will help participants prepare for the challenges “of tomorrow.”

“We do not conduct Tarang Shakti to demonstrate what we already know. We conduct it to discover what we still need to learn,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “Our partners bring their own operational experience. Bringing these together in a realistic training environment allows us to test assumptions, challenge procedures, understand different methods of employing air power and improve interoperability.”

The participation of F-35 stealth fighters in the Indian drills also underscores that New Delhi’s and Washington’s defense ties remain on a steady keel, despite their broader relationship coming under some strain over trade disputes and India’s purchases of Russian oil.

While the U.S. stealth fighter has twice featured at defense exhibitions in India and the Indian Air Force operated alongside F-35s during joint exercises in Australia two years ago, the upcoming drill marks the first time the aircraft will undertake tactical missions with Indian fighters from an Indian airbase.

Dixit said the air force also wants to use the air exercises to test lessons learned during India’s brief conflict with Pakistan in May last year in which both countries deployed fighter jets.

Besides the United States, France and UAE, other countries bringing air assets like surveillance and transport aircraft are Germany, Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Greece.

The drills are being held soon after India held bilateral air exercises with Japan in which Tokyo deployed its fighter aircraft, the Mitsubishi F-2A fighter aircraft in India for the first time. That exercise, held Sept. 9-22, was seen as a signal of growing defense ties between New Delhi and Tokyo amid an assertive China in the Indo-Pacific.

“Our partnership has progressed beyond simply conducting exercises together to refining our tactical capabilities at a practical level,” Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Takehiro Morita said Sept. 20 in Jodhpur where the drill was conducted.

The multinational air drill starting Saturday will conclude on Oct. 12.

新德里——美国空军的F-35战斗机将参加由印度主办的多国联合空中演习，这是第五代战斗机首次亮相印度空军演习，使印度空军和其他参演人员有机会直接体验与先进隐形飞机并肩作战。

演习将于周六在拉贾斯坦邦焦特布尔空军基地举行，该基地距离印度与巴基斯坦的边境约200公里。共有8个国家参演，另有32个国家作为观察员出席。

印度没有第五代战斗机。它将在演习中部署其主力战斗机，例如阵风、苏-30MKI、光辉和幻影2000。法国将派出阵风战斗机，阿联酋将派出F-16战斗机。

在印度的竞争对手中国迅速扩充其第五代战斗机机队之际，此次演习可以让印度空军亲身体验使用先进隐形飞机执行战术任务，并深入了解此类战机如何整合传感器数据、作为网络化部队的一部分运行以及使敌方雷达难以探测。

印度空军副参谋长阿舒托什·迪克西特空军元帅表示，随着战争性质的变化，名为“塔朗·沙克蒂”的演习将帮助参与者为“未来的”挑战做好准备。

“我们开展‘塔朗沙克蒂’演习并非为了展示我们已知的知识，而是为了发现我们仍需学习的内容，”他周三对记者表示。“我们的合作伙伴带来了他们各自的作战经验。将这些经验汇集在一个真实的训练环境中，使我们能够检验假设、挑战既定程序、了解不同的空中力量运用方法并提高互操作性。”

F-35隐形战斗机参与印度演习也表明，尽管由于贸易争端和印度购买俄罗斯石油，新德里和华盛顿的整体关系受到了一些压力，但两国的防务关系依然保持稳定。

虽然美国隐形战斗机曾两次在印度的国防展览会上亮相，印度空军也曾在两年前于澳大利亚举行的联合演习中与 F-35 并肩作战，但即将进行的演习标志着该型飞机将首次与印度战斗机从印度空军基地执行战术任务。

迪克西特表示，空军还希望利用此次空中演习来检验去年5月印巴短暂冲突中吸取的教训，当时印巴两国都部署了战斗机。

除了美国、法国和阿联酋之外，其他提供侦察机和运输机等空中资产的国家还有德国、澳大利亚、孟加拉国、斯里兰卡和希腊。

此次演习紧随印度与日本举行双边空中演习之后。在9月9日至22日举行的那次演习中，东京首次在印度部署了三菱F-2A战斗机。此次演习被视为在印太地区中国日益强势的背景下，新德里和东京之间防务关系不断加强的信号。

“我们的伙伴关系已经超越了单纯的共同演习，发展到在实际层面上完善我们的战术能力，”日本航空自卫队参谋长森田武弘大将9月20日在演习举行的焦特布尔表示。

从周六开始的多国联合空中演习将于10月12日结束。