India, Japan Air Force Chiefs fly the Tejas during Exercise 'Veer Guardian-2026' in Jodhpur

Indian Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh and Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) Chief of Staff General Takehiro Morita took off from Air Force Station Jodhpur in Tejas aircraft on Sunday during the ongoing Indo-Japan bilateral air exercise 'Veer Guardian-2026'. The two Air Chiefs walked towards their respective aircraft before taking off as part of the exercise, which involves frontline fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and JASDF. The IAF is participating with a diverse mix of frontline combat aircraft, including the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Su-30MKI and Rafale fighter jets. The JASDF is participating in the exercise with its F-2A fighter aircraft.The bilateral air exercise comes as earlier, on September 10, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described Tokyo sending its fighter aircraft to participate in Exercise Veer Guardian, taking place in Jodhpur, as a "significant milestone" for India-Japan defence partnership