{"id":40518,"date":"2026-09-20T22:30:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T17:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/india-japan-air-force-chiefs-fly-tejas-in-jodhpur\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T22:30:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T17:00:46","slug":"india-japan-air-force-chiefs-fly-tejas-in-jodhpur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/india-japan-air-force-chiefs-fly-tejas-in-jodhpur\/","title":{"rendered":"India-Japan Air Force Chiefs Fly Tejas in Jodhpur"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For the first time, the chiefs of the Indian and Japanese air forces flew Tejas aircrafts together on Sunday in Jodhpur, with Indian Air Chief Marshal AP Singh leading the Tejas formation while flying solo and Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) Chief of Staff General Morita Takehiro flying in a separate Tejas. The historic flight by the two air force chiefs conveyed a message of strengthening military ties between India and Japan.<\/p>\n

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During the flight, the Japanese air chief was familiarised with the capabilities, advanced systems and striking power of the indigenous Tejas fighter aircraft.<\/p>\n

The two air chiefs conducted a flypast over the airfield before landing safely at the airbase. Before landing, they also performed the manoeuvre of breaking formation and taking up their respective positions.<\/p>\n

A historic image of India-Japan defence ties has emerged before the world. On this occasion, both countries spoke of further strengthening defence cooperation and bilateral defence relations.<\/p>\n

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The bilateral military exercise Veer Guardian-2026 between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) has been under way in Jodhpur since 9 September and will continue until 22 September.<\/p>\n

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During the ongoing Veer Guardian military exercise between India and Japan, the air force chiefs of both countries flew in the indigenous Tejas fighter aircraft.<\/span><\/p>\n

Military exercise under way since 9 September<\/strong><\/p>\n

The exercise began on 9 September, with a Japanese Air Self-Defence Force contingent arriving at Jodhpur Air Base aboard its C-2 aircraft. F-2 fighter jets from Japan’s Tsuiki Air Base also arrived in Jodhpur to take part in the exercise.<\/p>\n

The Indian Air Force has deployed its frontline fighter aircraft, the Sukhoi-30 MKI, the indigenous Tejas and the Rafale for the exercise. During the exercise, pilots from both countries are carrying out various complex combat missions and sharing their experience with subject-matter experts.<\/p>\n

\"Before<\/picture><\/div>\n

Before take-off, Indian Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh and JASDF Chief of Staff General Morita Takehiro shook hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Future defence ties to gain new momentum<\/strong><\/p>\n

At a joint press conference held after the flight, the two air force chiefs said that joint training programmes were being launched to share operational tactics and expertise in the future. Both chiefs acknowledged that exercises such as Ex Veer Guardian would deepen mutual understanding between the Indian and Japanese air forces.<\/p>\n

During the conference, Japanese Air Force Chief General Morita said, “The experience of flying in India’s indigenous Tejas aircraft was \u0936\u093e\u0928\u0926\u093e\u0930. The Tejas is a symbol of India’s technological innovations.”<\/p>\n

This exercise will enhance the capabilities of both countries<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indian Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said, “This exercise reflects the deep trust between the armed forces of the two countries and our shared vision for the Indo-Pacific region. It demonstrates the very high level of trust between the two air forces. When we practise together, we learn from each other, fly together and train together, enabling both sides to progress together. I am confident that this will enhance the capabilities of both sides.” AP Singh said, “I am due to retire next month.”<\/p>\n

He said that the operation of Japanese fighter aircraft from Indian soil for the first time was a major milestone in the history of India-Japan relations and their partnership.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/picture><\/div>\n

The military exercise between India and Japan began on 9 September.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indian Air Force Chief speaks about Tarang Shakti-2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

Recalling Tarang Shakti-2024, the Chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal, said, “Your team came to India at that time, and I met them as the Vice Chief of the Air Staff. Unfortunately, your aircraft could not reach India because of bad weather in parts of Southeast Asia, and we missed that opportunity at the time. I am pleased that we have made up for that shortcoming this time.”<\/p>\n

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Supply of some aircraft affected by supply chain-related challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chief of Air Staff AP Singh said, \u201cThe supply of some aircraft has been affected by challenges linked to the global supply chain. But with the next version of the Tejas, the Tejas Mark-2, and our next-generation fifth-generation fighter aircraft, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, or AMCA, Indian aviation, the defence aviation industry and research and development are ready to reach new heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first time, the chiefs of the Indian and Japanese air forces flew Tejas aircrafts together on Sunday in Jodhpur, with Indian Air Chief Marshal AP Singh leading the Tejas formation while flying solo and Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) Chief of Staff General Morita Takehiro flying in a separate Tejas. The historic flight…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[46817,46813,46811,25592,46815,46816,46814,46812],"class_list":["post-40518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nation","tag-air-force-exercise","tag-ap-singh","tag-india-japan-air-force","tag-indian-air-force","tag-jodhpur-exercise","tag-military-ties","tag-morita-takehiro","tag-tejas-fighter-jet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/petrolnews.in\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}