IAF-Royal Malaysian Air Force Conduct Exercise Udara Shakti 2026

The Indian Air Force and Royal Malaysian Air Force are conducting Exercise Udara Shakti 2026 at Subang Airbase, Malaysia. The Indian Army contingent prepares to travel to Thailand later this month for Exercise Maitree, a bilateral exercise with Thailand.

Exercise Udara Shakti 2026 and Exercise Maitree:

Dimension	Key Details
Exercise Udara Shakti 2026 (Duration)	Is a 5-day air combat training drill exercise.
Exercise Udara Shakti 2026 (Periodicity and hosting)	Is conducted biennially, and all editions are hosted in Malaysia.
Exercise Udara Shakti 2026 (Notable current feature)	Provides for the debut appearance of Indian Rafale fighter jets in this year’s edition.
Exercise Udara Shakti 2026 (Training focus)	Comprises air combat manoeuvring, airlift and refuelling, and Subject Matter Expert Exchanges (SMEEs).
Exercise Udara Shakti 2026 (Key assets participated)	Comprises Russian-origin Su-30MKM and Su-30MKIs fighters, US-made F/A-18D Hornets, and French-made Rafales.
India-Malaysia defence-industrial link (Platform and mechanism)	Comprises a link through the Malaysian Su-30MKM fleet, and both countries have been working to institutionalise cooperation through a bilateral Su-30 Forum.
BrahMos-related details mentioned	Malaysia has shown interest in the air-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, and India has already exported the ground-based BrahMos system to the Philippines.
Exercise Maitree (Participating countries and alternation)	Is the bilateral exercise conducted alternately by India and Thailand.
Exercise Maitree (Institution year)	Has been instituted in 2006.
Exercise Maitree (Previous edition details)	The 14th edition is held at the Joint Training Node in Umroi, Meghalaya, in September last year.
Exercise Maitree 2026 (Location and leg)	Is held in Thailand, marking the outbound leg of the alternating exercise.
Exercise Maitree (Operational focus and training components)	Provides for company-level counter-terrorism operations in semi-urban terrain, with training covering joint planning, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, tactical drills, and a 48-hour validation phase.