Tarang Shakti 2026, the Indian Air Force's multinational exercise, ended at Air Force Station Jodhpur on 12 October 2026 after 17 days of flying with seven foreign air forces. Sri Lanka's contribution, a single Beechcraft King Air 360ER with a six-member crew, was confirmed by Sri Lanka's defense ministry in a report published on 16 October.
The exercise ran from 26 September under the theme "Power in Partnership". It was the second edition after the inaugural Tarang Shakti in 2024, and it brought together Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the United States alongside the host, with several other countries attending as observers.
Fighters, tankers and one turboprop
India's opening announcement, published on 27 September, listed the combat aircraft taking part as F-35 Lightning II, Rafale and F-16, with A400M, C-130 and C-130J transports and MRTT and KC-30A tankers. The stated objectives were joint training, interoperability and the exchange of operating procedures among aircrew, mission planners and support staff, together with aerospace safety.
Sri Lanka's King Air sits at the other end of that spectrum. The 360ER is a twin-turboprop used for transport, surveillance and liaison, and its presence shows how a small air force takes part in a large exercise: by flying support missions and learning the procedures that let different forces operate from the same base.
The Sri Lankan contingent consisted of two pilots, a navigator and three ground engineers. The ministry said the crew worked on coordination between air and ground personnel, exchanged technical expertise and became familiar with the capabilities, tactics and procedures of the other air forces. Wing Commander PGGK Bowatte captained the aircraft.
What the exercise was for
India uses Tarang Shakti to show its operational standards and its domestic aerospace industry to partners at the same time. The 2026 program included an industrial tour for the foreign contingents, a seminar and a series of non-flying events, including a marathon named for Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, India's only Air Force recipient of the Param Vir Chakra.
For the smaller participants, the value lies in access. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka rarely fly alongside fifth-generation fighters and multinational tanker fleets, and exercises of this kind are where their crews see how large-force missions are planned and deconflicted. Neither India nor Sri Lanka published sortie counts or assessments of individual contingents, which is normal for this type of exercise; how military exercises are planned and interpreted explains what such announcements usually leave out.
Tarang Shakti 2026 also fits a wider pattern of Indian defense engagement in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, in which New Delhi hosts partners rather than only sending contingents abroad. With the second edition complete, the next question is whether the exercise becomes a fixed biennial event, and which air forces join the third.