{"id":355556,"date":"2026-02-07T14:27:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T08:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=355556"},"modified":"2026-02-07T17:10:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T11:40:21","slug":"vayu-shakti-2026-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/vayu-shakti-2026-exercise\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Vayu Shakti 2026&#8217; Exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>News<\/strong>: The Indian Air Force will conduct a major firepower exercise called Exercise Vayu Shakti at the Pokaran Field Firing Range in Rajasthan.<\/p>\n<h2>About &#8216;Vayu Shakti 2026&#8217; Exercise<\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-127816465%2Cimgsize-627651%2Cwidth-400%2Cheight-225%2Cresizemode-72\/the-indian-air-force-will-conduct-its-largest-day-and-night-air-power-exercise-vayu-shakti-2026-on-february-27-in-jaisalmer-rajasthan.jpg?resize=400%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"'Vayu Shakti 2026' Exercise\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: TOI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is a <strong>major air combat exercise<\/strong> by <strong>Indian Air Force, modelled after Operation Sindoor.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Location: <\/strong>The exercise will take place at the Pokaran Field Firing Range, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Scheduled date:\u00a0<\/strong> 27 February 2026<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">It is expected to be the <strong>Indian Air Force\u2019s largest air combat drill of the year.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Objective:<\/strong> To test <strong>operational strategy and weapon systems<\/strong>\u00a0to <strong>strike simulated enemy targets.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Participating Commands: <\/strong>Airbases and assets of the IAF\u2019s Western and South Western Air Commands will participate in the exercise.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Features<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">The exercise will be <strong>conducted in a simulated wartime scenario and monitored through the IAF\u2019s Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS)<\/strong> for real-time coordination.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Almost all frontline fighter aircraft and air defence systems that were part of Operation Sindoor will engage.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">It includes <strong>Rafale, Su-30 MKI, Tejas, MiG-29, Jaguar, Mirage-2000, and Hawk. (<\/strong>Note: The MiG-21 (retired) will not feature in the exercise for the first time.)<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Long-, medium-, and short-range radar inputs<\/strong> will be integrated to create a comprehensive air picture for offensive and defensive missions.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Fixed-wing transport aircraft<\/strong> such as C-130J and C-295 will participate in operational tasks.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\">Helicopter units, including<strong> Prachand, Chinook, Mi-17, and Advanced Light Helicopter platforms,<\/strong> will support mission operations.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Drones and loitering munitions<\/strong> will be deployed for surveillance and strike roles.<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Multi-layered air defence systems,<\/strong> including Akash missiles, L-70 guns, and anti-drone platforms, will remain at operational readiness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: The Indian Air Force will conduct a major firepower exercise called Exercise Vayu Shakti at the Pokaran Field Firing Range in Rajasthan. About &#8216;Vayu Shakti 2026&#8217; Exercise It is a major air combat exercise by Indian Air Force, modelled after Operation Sindoor. Location: The exercise will take place at the Pokaran Field Firing Range,&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/vayu-shakti-2026-exercise\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">&#8216;Vayu Shakti 2026&#8217; Exercise<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10366,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,11204,12039],"tags":[11872,11170],"class_list":["post-355556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-defence-exercises","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","tag-india-today","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355556\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}