Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Nathaniel Jackson / Wikimedia Commons, public domain
The United States has not made any official offer to sell the F-35 stealth fighter to India, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh said on Saturday, even as the American jet takes part in an IAF-hosted exercise for the first time.
Speaking on the sidelines of Exercise Tarang Shakti, Singh made the point with a light-hearted remark about the US Pacific Air Forces commander. “I was telling the PACAF commander that your people don’t even let us go near the aircraft. And you talk about selling it to us,” he said.
The F-35 at Tarang Shakti
Tarang Shakti is a multinational air exercise hosted by the IAF at the Jodhpur Air Force Station in Rajasthan. Its second edition includes seven foreign countries, among them the United States, France, Germany and Australia. This is the first time the F-35, a multi-role stealth fighter built by Lockheed Martin, has flown in the exercise.
Exercises of this kind allow air forces to practise operating together, compare tactics and build working relationships between crews. The presence of a fifth-generation stealth fighter on Indian soil has drawn interest, but the IAF chief’s comments make clear that it does not mean a purchase is on the table.
Why the remark matters
By stating plainly that no formal offer exists, Singh made clear that the jet’s appearance at Jodhpur should not be read as a sign that a deal is in the works.
His quip also points to how carefully the US guards the aircraft’s technology. Even partner air forces flying alongside it during a joint exercise are kept at a distance from the jet itself.
An anniversary week for the IAF
The remarks come in the same week the Indian Air Force marked its 94th anniversary. Singh noted that the force started in 1932 with just four Wapiti aircraft. In his Air Force Day address at the Hindan air base, he said the world had seen how quickly the IAF moved into combat during Operation Sindoor, the four-day military confrontation with Pakistan in May 2025.
During that operation, the IAF struck terror sites in Bahawalpur and near Muridke in Pakistan’s Punjab province on May 7, and went on to strike military targets at several locations in Pakistan on May 9 and 10. Singh cited the operation as showing the central role of air power in safeguarding India’s national interests.
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