IAF and Japan Air Self Defence Force to hold Veer Guardian-2026 at Jodhpur

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The Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) will hold the bilateral air exercise Veer Guardian-2026 at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 9 to 22 September 2026.
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The IAF fields the indigenous LCA Tejas along with Su-30 MKI and Rafale; the JASDF participates with its F-2A fighter aircraft.
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The fourteen-day schedule covers advanced operational missions, mission planning conferences, subject-matter-expert exchanges, and engineering and aerospace-safety interactions.

●Veer Guardian is the bilateral AIR exercise between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF).
●2026 edition: Air Force Station Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 9-22 September 2026 — a fourteen-day exercise.
●The maiden edition, Veer Guardian-2023, was held at Hyakuri Air Base in Japan in January 2023, so 2026 brings the exercise to Indian soil.
●IAF platforms this edition: LCA Tejas (indigenous, built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited), Su-30 MKI and Rafale. JASDF platform: the F-2A fighter.
●India-Japan exercises by service: Veer Guardian (air), Dharma Guardian (army, annual since 2018, held alternately in India and Japan), JIMEX (navy, held since 2012).
●India and Japan are both members of the Quad, along with the United States and Australia.
●The India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue was first held in New Delhi on 30 November 2019.

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GS Paper 2 > International Relations > Bilateral Agreements and Groupings Involving India

★Match India-Japan exercises with the service that conducts them: Veer Guardian (air), Dharma Guardian (army), JIMEX (navy).

Veer Guardian

Bilateral air exercise between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self Defence Force, first held in January 2023 at Hyakuri Air Base, Japan.

JASDF

Japan Air Self Defence Force, the air arm of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, participating in the 2026 edition with F-2A fighters.

•Veer Guardian-2026: Air Force Station Jodhpur, 9-22 September 2026, IAF flying LCA Tejas, Su-30 MKI and Rafale alongside the JASDF F-2A.
•Veer Guardian debuted in January 2023 at Hyakuri Air Base, Japan — the first-ever India-Japan bilateral air exercise.
•Dharma Guardian is the India-Japan ARMY exercise (since 2018); JIMEX is the NAVAL one (since 2012).

•Exercise names ending in 'Guardian' signal India-Japan: Veer for air, Dharma for army. The trap is swapping the two services.

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