An person with knowledge of the situation said on Wednesday that the Indian Air Force is getting ready to undertake a mega-multilateral exercise later this year that will bring together the air forces of 12 countries and boost military relations.

The Tarang Shakti exercise is planned to be the largest air exercise ever held in India. The participating nations will take part in the exercise with a variety of resources, including transport planes and military combat jets.

Among others, air forces of France, Australia, the US and the UK are likely to participate in the exercise — its location is not known yet.

According to officials, the Tarang Shakti exercise will be held in October-November this year — six air forces will participate in the exercise, and the rest will attend as observers. They said the final approval on the exercise from the government is pending.

Ahead of Tarang Shakti, the IAF is likely to participate in another exercise in Egypt, officials said.

Earlier this year, the IAF took part in several joint exercises with France, Greece, Japan and the UK — among others, Exercise Orion at the Mont-de-Marsan airbase in France from April 17 to May 5 and the INIOCHOS exercise at Andravida base in Greece, hosted by the Hellenic Air Force.

The IAF and USAF participated in a cooperative exercise called Cope India-2023 in April at bases in Kalaikunda, Panagarh, and Agra.

On July 14, the IAF’s three Rafale fighter planes will take part in the Bastille Day flypast over Paris’ Champs Elysees. This year’s Bastille Day Parade will feature Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the honoree, and a group from the three Indian services will march in the parade alongside their French counterparts.

(This story has not been edited by Bharat Express staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)