Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh addressed participants of the second edition of Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026 at Air Force Station Jodhpur on October 10, 2026. The multinational air exercise, hosted by the Indian Air Force from September 26 to October 12, 2026, brought together air forces from seven Friendly Foreign Countries including Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, and United States of America, along with 32 observer nations.
The minister emphasized that modern warfare is undergoing profound transformation, extending beyond traditional domains to encompass space, cyber, electromagnetic spectrum, and information domain. He highlighted the growing influence of unmanned systems, drones, artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, and long-range precision weapons in shaping contemporary military operations. Singh stated that future military power will be defined less by platform numbers and more by the speed of sensing, understanding, deciding, and acting, with speed, precision, information, and integration emerging as defining attributes of military capability.
Singh highlighted India's adoption of Atmanirbharta in defence as national policy under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, stressing that nations must possess capability to produce their own weapons and critical technologies to sustain during prolonged conflicts. He noted the Indian Air Force's evolution from limited resources at Independence to a modern aerospace power with advanced aircraft, precision weapons, sophisticated sensors, integrated networks, and increasingly advanced indigenous technologies.
The minister detailed India's growing aerospace and defence manufacturing ecosystem, including indigenous programs such as Tejas fighter aircraft, helicopters (Dhruv, Rudra, Prachand, and Light Utility Helicopter), Akash air defence system, AESA radars, electronic systems, and emerging unmanned and aerospace technologies. He specifically referenced the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program as an important step toward mastering fifth-generation stealth fighter technology and underscored the importance of advanced aero-engine development and co-production.
Singh emphasized that Atmanirbhar Bharat does not mean isolation but developing domestic capabilities to design, develop, manufacture, maintain, and upgrade critical defence technologies while exploring cooperation with like-minded countries in research, co-development, co-production, maintenance, training, and innovation. He stated that future defence relationships will be about technology and trust, not just platforms, highlighting the growing importance of trusted partnerships and resilient supply chains.
Exercise Tarang Shakti provided participating air forces opportunity to operate alongside one another, exchange operational knowledge, assess procedures, and understand different platforms, doctrines, and approaches to mission planning. The exercise brought together diverse combat, transport, surveillance, and air-to-air refuelling capabilities for joint mission planning, operational learning, and enhanced interoperability. Indigenous platforms including Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand participated, highlighting India's progress in indigenous aerospace design, engineering, and manufacturing.
Beyond flying operations, the exercise featured professional engagements, industrial visits, and cultural interactions including yoga sessions, heritage visits, and an International Night celebrating traditions of participating nations. The event was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General N. S. Raja Subramani, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, other dignitaries, and officials from Ministry of Defence and participating countries.