List of exercises of the Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force engages in multiple military exercises with foreign nations and their air forces to increase interoperability between themselves. Some are also multinational exercise. The following is a list of exercises of the Indian Air Force.:

Exercise Garuda (India, France)
Cope India (India, United States)
SINDEX (India, Singapore)
Gaganshakti (only India)
Indradhanush (India, UK)
Exercise Red Flag (Multinational, Host: USA)
Exercise Desert Eagle (India, UAE)
Exercise Eastern Bridge (India, Oman)
Exercise Iron Fist (only India)
Red Flag – Alaska (Multinational, Host: United States)
Siam Bharat (India, Thailand)
Pralay Shayam (Disaster response exercise)
Exercise INDRA –bilateral (India, Russia)
Exercise Blue Flag (Multinational, Host: Israel)
Exercise DANX (only India)
Exercise Pitch Black (Multinational, Host: Australia)
Aviaindra (India, Russia)
Shinyuu Maitri (India, Japan)
Vayushakti (only India)
Exercise Desert Knight (India, France, UAE)
Exercise Desert Warrior (India, Egypt)
Exercise Cobra Warrior (Multinational, Host: United Kingdom)
Exercise Udara Shakti (India, Malaysia)
Bharat Shakti (Tri-service)
Exercise Tarang Shakti (Multinational, Host: India)
Exercise INIOCHOS (Multinational, Host: Greece)
Exercise Desert Flag (Multinational, Host: UAE)
Exercise Aakraman (only India)
Exercise Tiger Claw (India, United States) (Special Forces)
Exercise Ocean Sky (Multinational, Host: Spain)

The Indian Air Force's participation in multinational air exercises has evolved significantly over the decades. From early bilateral training drills to hosting full-scale multilateral exercises such as Tarang Shakti, this evolution has reflected India’s growing airpower confidence, interoperability goals, and strategic partnerships. A detailed historical narrative on this transformation has been documented.^[1]

[1]

Name	Participating Country	Units	Date	Location	References
1963
Exercise Shiksha	Australia, India (Host), United Kingdom, United States			Palam AFS, India	^[2]

Name	Participating Country	Units	Date	Location	References
2003
Garuda I	France			Maharajpur AFS, India	^[3]
2004
Cope India	United States	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Dassault Mirage 2000 Mikoyan MiG-27 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21	16 - 27 February	Gwalior AFS, India	^[4]^[5]
Sindex I	Singapore			Gwalior AFS, India
2005
Garuda II	France			Istres Air Base, France	^[6]
2006
Sindex II	Singapore	Mikoyan MiG-27	3 - 20 January	Kalaikunda AFS, India	^[7]
Gagan Shakti	-		4 - 27 September	Western Air Command South Western Air Command	^[8]
Indradhanush I	United Kingdom		2 - 13 October	Gwalior AFS, India	^[8]
Sindex III	Singapore	Mikoyan MiG-27	8 November	Kalaikunda AFS, India	^[9]
Sindex IV	Singapore		8 - 22 December	Paya Lebar Air Base, Singapore	^[8]
2007
Garuda III	France	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Dassault Mirage 2000 Mikoyan MiG-27	13 - 25 February	Kalaikunda AFS, India	^[10]
Indradhanush II	United Kingdom	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI 1 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI		RAF Waddington, United Kingdom	^[11]
Sindex V	Singapore	Mikoyan MiG-27, No. 18 Squadron	26 November - 13 December	Kalaikunda AFS, India	^[12]^[13]
2008
Red Flag	United States (Host), India, France, South Korea	8 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI 2 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 2 Ilyushin Il-76 247 Garud Commandos	9 - 23 August	Nellis AFB, United States	^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]
Exercise Desert Eagle I	UAE		September	Al-Dhafra airbase, UAE	^[18]
2009
Cope India	United States	Ilyushin Il-76 Antonov An-32 Mil Mi-17 Garud Commandos	19 - 23 October	Agra AFS, India	^[19]^[20]
Eastern Bridge I	Oman	6 SEPECAT Jaguar 1 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 1 Ilyushin Il-76	31 October	Jamnagar AFS, India	^[21]
2010
Vayushakti 10	—	Fighter aircraft Su-30MKI Mirage 2000 MiG-27 MiG-29 Helicopters Mi-35 (attack helicopter; 104 Squadron) Mi-17 (medium-lift helicopter) Transport aircraft Il-76 (heavy-lift; 44 Squadron) An-32 (medium-lift) AWACS A-50EI (50 Squadron) Indian Special Forces Garud Commando Force Para SF MARCOS Aerobatics team Surya Kiran Sarang	28 February	Chandan Fire Range, Pokhran, India	^[22]^[23]
Garuda IV	India, France (Host), Singapore	6 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI 3 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 1 Ilyushin Il-76	14 - 25 June	Istres Air Base, France	^[24]
Indradhanush III	United Kingdom	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Dassault Mirage 2000 Mikoyan MiG-27 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI Beriev A-50	18 October - 3 November	Kalaikunda AFS, West Bengal	^[25]

Name	Participating Country	Units	Date	Location	References
2011
Eastern Bridge II	Oman	SEPECAT Jaguar (6 Squadron) Mikoyan MiG-29 (28 Squadron)	22 October	Jamnagar AFS, India	^[26]^[27]
2013
Iron Fist	-	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI SEPECAT Jaguar Mikoyan MiG-29 HAL Tejas Mikoyan MiG-27 Dassault Mirage 2000 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules Antonov An-32 Ilyushin Il-76 Beriev A-50 Mil Mi-8 Mil Mi-17 Mil Mi-35	February 2013	Pokhran, India	^[28]^[29]^[30]
2014
Garuda V	France	4 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI 4 Mikoyan MiG-27 4 Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 1 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 1 Beriev A-50	2 - 13 June	Jodhpur AFS, India	^[31]^[32]^[33]
2015
Indradhanush IV	United Kingdom	4 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, No. 2 Squadron 1 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 1 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III	30 July	RAF Coningsby and RAF Brize Norton, United Kingdom	^[34]
2016
Iron Fist	-	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI HAL Tejas Suryakiran Aerobatic Team Garud Commando Force	18 March	Pokhran, India	^[35]^[36]
Red Flag – Alaska 16-1	United States	4 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI 4 SEPECAT Jaguar 2 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 1 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III	28 April - May 13	Eielson AFB, United States	^[37]^[38]^[39]
Desert Eagle II	UAE	4 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI	May 24 - June 3	Al-Dhafra airbase, UAE	^[18]^[40]^[41]
Siam Bharat I	Thailand				^[42]
2017
Eastern Bridge IV	Oman	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Mikoyan Mig-29 SEPECAT Jaguar Mikoyan MiG-27	16 - 20 January	Jamnagar AFS, India	^[43]^[44]^[45]
Siam Bharat II	Thailand		22 - 26 May	Chiang Mai, Thailand	^[46]^[47]^[48]
	Sri Lanka	Air warrior drill team	9 - 14 July	Colombo, Sri Lanka	^[49]^[50]^[51]
Pralay Shayam (Disaster response exercise)	-	Mil Mi-17 HAL Dhruv HAL Chetak	23 September	Hyderabad, India	^[52]
Indra (tri-service)	Russia	2 Ilyushin Il-76	19 - 29 October	Sergeyvsky Training Ranges, Russia	^[53]
Blue Flag	Israel (Host), India and 6 other nations	1 Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules 45 Garud Commandos	2 - 6 November	Uvda Air Force Base, Israel	^[54]^[55]^[56]^[57]
DANX (Defence of Andaman & Nicobar Exercise)	—	SEPECAT Jaguar Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules	20 - 24 November	Andaman & Nicobar Islands, India	^[58]
2018
Gaganshakti	—	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Mikoyan Mig-29 SEPECAT Jaguar HAL Tejas Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Mikoyan MiG-27 Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules Ilyushin IL-78 MKI	8 - 22 April	India	^[59]^[60]^[61]
Pitch Black	Australia (Host), India and 10 other nations	4 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI 1 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 1 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III 1 Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules 145 Garud Commandos	27 July - 18 August	Darwin Air Force Base, Australia	^[62]^[63]^[64]
Bi-lateral exercise	Indonesia		20 - 22 August	Subang Air Base, Malaysia	^[65]
Aviaindra	Russia	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Mikoyan Mig-29 Mil Mi-8	17 - 28 September	Lipetsk, Russia	^[66]^[67]
Aviaindra	Russia		10 - 22 December	Jodhpur, India	^[66]^[67]
Cope India	United States		3 - 14 December	Kalaikunda and Panagarh Air Force Stations, India	^[68]
Shinyuu Maitri - Bi-Lateral Exercise	Japan	C-17 Globemaster Antonov An-32	03-7 December	AFS Agra	^[69]
2019
Vayushakti 19	—		16 February	Pokhran, India	^[70]^[71]
Garud VI	France	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Dassault Rafale Ilyushin IL-78 C-17 Globemaster	1 - 12 July	Mont-de-Marsan, France	^[72]

Name	Participating Country	Units	Date	Location	References
2021
Exercise Desert Knight 21	India & France	India- Su-30 MKI, Mirage 2000, Beriev A-50, C-130-J and Il-78MKI France- Rafale, A330 MRTT, A400M	23 January	Jodhpur AFS, India	^[73]
Desert Warrior- Joint Tactical Air Exercise	Egypt		30-31 October	El Berigat Air Base, Egypt	^[74]
2022
Pitch Black	Australia (Host), India and 15 other nations	4 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI 1 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 1 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III	27 July - 18 August	Darwin Air Force Base, Australia	^[75]
Garuda VII	France	Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Dassault Rafale HAL Tejas SEPECAT Jaguar HAL Prachand Mil Mi-17 1 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI other unspecified AEW&C	26 October to 12 November	Jodhpur AFS, India	^[76]^[3]
2023
Exercise Cobra Warrior 23-1	United Kingdom (Host), Belgium, Finland, India, Saudi Arabia, United States	145 personnel 5 Dassault Mirage 2000 1 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 2 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III	6 March to 24 March	RAF Waddington RAF Coningsby	^[77]^[78]
2024
Exercise Desert Knight 24	India (Host), France, United Arab Emirates	India- Su-30 MKI, MiG-29, Jaguar, Beriev A-50, C-130-J and Il-78MKI France- Rafale, A330 MRTT UAE- F-16	23 January	Arabian Sea, Indian FIS	^[79]^[80]
Vayushakti 24	—	>121 aircraft Fighter jets – Tejas, Rafale, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Su-30 MKI, Jaguar, Hawk Transport aircraft – C-130J Helicopter – Prachand, Dhruv, Chinook, Apache, Mi-17 Surface to Air Missiles – Akash, SAMAR	17 February	Pokhran, India	^[81]^[70]^[71]
Bharat Shakti (Tri-service)	—	HAL Tejas HAL Dhruv HAL Rudra HAL Prachand	12 March	Pokhran, India	^[82]^[83]^[84]^[85]
Gaganshakti	—	All units of IAF	1 - 10 April	India	^[86]^[87]^[88]
Red Flag – Alaska 24-2	Germany, India, Netherlands, Singapore, United Kingdom United States (Host)	8 Dassault Rafale 1 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 1 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III	4 - 14 June	Eielson Air Force Base, United States	^[89]^[90]
Pitch Black	Australia (Host), India and 18 other nations	4 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI 1 Ilyushin IL-78 MKI 1 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III	27 July - 18 August	Darwin Air Force Base, Australia	^[91]
Exercise Udara Shakti	Malaysia		5 - 9 August	Kuantan, Malaysia	^[92]^[93]
Exercise Tarang Shakti	Phase I India (Host), France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom. Phase II India (Host), Australia Bangladesh, Greek, Singapore, United Arab Emirates United States		Phase I– 6 - 14 August Phase II– 29 August to 14 September	Sulur AFS Jodhpur AFS	^[94]^[95]
Exercise Eastern Bridge VII	Oman	India: MiG-29, Jaguar, C-17 Oman: F-16, Hawk	11 - 22 September	RAFO Masirah, Oman	^[96]^[97]
Joint Military Training	Singapore	India: Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Jaguar, Tejas Singapore: F-16, F-15, G-550 AEW&C, C-130	21 October - 9 December	Kalaikunda AFS, India	^[98]
2025
Exercise INIOCHOS-25	Greece (Host), India and 13 other nations	Su-30MKI Il-78MKI C-17	31 March - 11 April	Andravida Air Base, Greece	^[99]
Exercise Desert Flag-10	UAE (Host), India and 10 other nations	MiG-29 Jaguar	21 April - 8 May	Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE	^[100]^[101]
Exercise Aakraman	India		Late April		^[102]
Exercise Tiger Claw	United States	(Special Forces exercise)	26 May - 10 June	Garud Regimental Training Centre (GRTC), Chandigarh Air Force Station	^[103]^[104]
Exercise Ocean Sky 2025	Spain (Host), India and other nations		20 - 31 October	Gando Air Base, Spain	^[105]
Garuda VIII	France	6 Su-30MKI 3 C-17 1 Il-78MKI	16 – 27 November	Mont-de-Marsan Air Base, France	^[106]^[107]
AviaIndra	Russia	Su-30MKI Tejas Il-78MKI Mi-17	15 – 22 December	India	^[108]^[109]^[110]
2026
Indo Thai In-situ Exercise	India and Thailand	Su-30MKI Il-78MKI	9 - 12 February	Indian Ocean Region	Exercise included IAF AWACS and Thai Gripen and Ground Control Interception (GCI).^[111]
Vayushakti 26	—	77 fighter aircraft, 43 helicopters and eight transport aircraft, with 277 weapons and 12,000 kg of explosives. Fighter jets – Tejas, Rafale, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Su-30 MKI, Jaguar, Hawk Transport aircraft – C-130J, C-295, C-17 Helicopter – Prachand, Rudra, Chinook, Apache, Mi-17 Surface to Air Missiles – Akash, SPYDER Short Range Loitering Munitions (SRLM), Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS)	27 February	Pokhran Air-to-Ground Range, Jaisalmer, India	Motto: "Achook, Abhedya aur Sateek". The exercise will be undertaken during day, dusk and night.^[112]^[113]

List of exercises of the Indian Air Force

2000 – 2010

2011 – 2020

2020 – present

See also

References

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