How many friendly foreign countries flew their aircraft in Exercise Tarang Shakti 2026?

The correct answer is the Indian Air Force. Tarang Shakti is an air exercise, and the second edition was hosted by the Indian Air Force from 26 September to 12 October 2026, with the Defence Minister addressing the participants at Air Force Station Jodhpur. Option A, the Indian Army, is wrong because the exercise was built around flying operations — combat jets, transport aircraft, surveillance platforms and air-to-air refuelling tankers — and around joint mission planning between air forces, not around ground manoeuvres. Option B, the Indian Navy, is wrong for the same reason; the Navy Chief, Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, was present at the event as a dignitary, but the exercise was not a naval one. Option D, the Indian Coast Guard, is wrong because the Coast Guard is a maritime law-enforcement and search-and-rescue service and had no role of this kind here. The clue in such questions is usually the kind of platform named: Tejas and Prachand are an aircraft and a helicopter, which point to the air arm.

The correct answer is Jodhpur. Air Force Station Jodhpur, in Rajasthan, was where the Defence Minister spoke to the aircrews and ground teams of the second edition of Tarang Shakti. Option B, Jamnagar, is a well-known Indian Air Force base in Gujarat but was not the venue for this address. Option C, Sulur, in Tamil Nadu, is closely linked with Tejas squadrons and so is a tempting distractor, yet the Minister's address took place at Jodhpur. Option D, Hindan, near Delhi, is one of the busiest transport bases of the Indian Air Force and hosts many ceremonial events, but not this one. Candidates should also fix the exercise window in memory, 26 September to 12 October 2026, and the fact that this was the second edition, the first having been conducted in 2024.

The correct answer is B. More than four-fifths of the craft is of Indian origin, and it is propelled by three diesel engines that drive waterjets, which gives it the agility needed in shallow waters. Option A is wrong because Mangrol is a surface craft designed to hunt submarines, not a submarine itself. Option C is wrong because it is a small shallow water craft, not an aircraft carrier, although it will indeed serve under the Western Naval Command after being commissioned at Mumbai. Option D is wrong because the ship joins the Indian Navy and its role is anti-submarine warfare, along with underwater surveillance, low-intensity maritime operations and mine warfare related tasks. Its job is to protect ports, harbours and coastal approaches while working alongside patrol aircraft, helicopters and other warships.

The correct answer is Gujarat. Mangrol is a coastal town and a well-known fishing harbour in the Junagadh district of that state, and the Navy has used the name before: the minesweeper INS Mangrol, with the pennant M85, served until April 2004. Naming a new ship after a retired one is a standing practice in the Navy, meant to carry a vessel’s legacy forward. Option A is wrong, though Mumbai in Maharashtra is where the commissioning ceremony will be held. Option B is wrong, yet Kochi in Kerala is where the ship was built, so the two states are easy to confuse here. Option D is simply not connected with this ship. Aspirants should keep the three places apart: Gujarat for the name, Kerala for the builder and Maharashtra for the commissioning.

The correct answer is Abhay, the hull-mounted sonar that lets the craft pick up submarines in coastal and shallow waters. Option C is the trap in this question: Maareech is indeed carried by the ship, but it is the Advanced Torpedo Decoy System used for self-protection, not a sonar. Options A and D are wrong in this context, as the announcement named only Abhay as the hull-mounted sonar. Along with the sonar, the craft carries lightweight torpedoes and an indigenous anti-submarine rocket launcher, and it is driven by three diesel engines with waterjet propulsion, an arrangement that allows tight manoeuvring in shallow seas. The combination of these sensors and weapons is what makes the ship suited to hunting submarines close to the coast, where larger warships are limited.