In a first, US F-35 fighters to take part in IAF exercise

NEW DELHI: The United States’ fifth-generation stealth fighter jet F-35 will for the first time take part in India’s multinational combat exercise as six of such jets will join the IAF-led exercise ‘Tarang Shakti 2026’, which is set to be hosted in Jodhpur from Sept 26 to Oct 12.Only three countries in the world — US (F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor), Russia (Su-57) and China ( Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-35)— possessed 5th-generation stealth fighters but it’s only the Lockheed Martin-manufactured F-35 that has been used extensively by the US and its allies in combat missions in Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen.Addressing the media here on Tuesday, IAF Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said, “For the first time, we are going to exercise with the F-35. It is coming. It had come to India earlier.