French air force deploys Rafales and support aircraft for India exercise
France has sent four Rafale F4 fighters, three A330 MRTT tanker transports and two A400M aircraft to Jodhpur for India’s Tarang Shakti multinational air exercise. The deployment is part of Mission Pégase 26, a long-range French air projection operation spanning 40,000 kilometres.
The French Air and Space Force has deployed four Rafale F4 fighter jets and five support aircraft to Jodhpur for the second edition of India’s multinational Tarang Shakti air exercise. The contingent, which arrived on Friday, includes three A330 MRTT Phénix multi-role tanker transport aircraft and two A400M Atlas aircraft. It will take part in the Indian Air Force-hosted exercise from September 28 to October 12.
Tarang Shakti is intended to strengthen operational cooperation and interoperability among participating air forces. France also took part in the first edition of the exercise in 2024. The deployment forms part of Mission Pégase 26, the seventh edition of France’s long-range air projection exercise.
The mission is being conducted from September 8 to October 15 and involves about 300 personnel travelling a 40,000-kilometre route with nine stopovers. According to the French Embassy in New Delhi, the route begins in the Arctic and extends through the Pacific, East Asia and the Indian Ocean to the Near and Middle East. The mission is intended to demonstrate France’s capacity to project air power over long distances and defend its overseas territories and strategic interests.
The embassy said the operation would also strengthen aerospace cooperation with strategic partners, including Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and India, while reinforcing France’s network of air-support bases. France and India maintain defence cooperation through exercises including Varuna, Garuda and Shakti. French officials, including Lieutenant General Dominique Tardif and Major General Julien Sabéné, are scheduled to meet Indian armed forces authorities during the deployment.
French Ambassador Thierry Mathou described India as a core strategic defence partner. France said its participation also reflected its stated commitment to regional and global security, international law and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific.
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