新德里——美国空军F-35战斗机正加入由印度主办的多国空中演习，这是第五代战斗机首次参与印度空中训练，使印度空军及其他参演方得以直接体验与先进隐身战机协同作战。
NEW DELHI — The U.S. Air Force’s F-35 fighter jets are joining a multinational air exercise hosted by India, bringing a fifth-generation fighter to Indian air drills for the first time and giving the Indian Air Force and other participants direct exposure to operating alongside an advanced stealth aircraft.
演习将于周六在拉贾斯坦邦乔德普尔空军基地启动，该基地距离印度与巴基斯坦边境约200公里。共有八个国家参与演习，另有32个国家以观察员身份出席。
The drills get underway Saturday at the Jodhpur air base in Rajasthan state, which lies about 200 kilometers from India’s border with Pakistan. Eight countries are participating and 32 more are attending as observers.
印度目前不拥有第五代战斗机。在战斗训练中，印度将部署“阵风”、苏-30MKI、“光辉”和“幻影”2000等主要战斗机。法国将派出“阵风”战机，阿联酋将派出F-16战机。
India does not have a fifth-generation fighter aircraft. It will deploy its major fighters such as Rafales, Su-30MKIs, Tejas and the Mirage 2000 in the combat drills. France is bringing Rafale jets and the United Arab Emirates is bringing F-16s.
在印度的竞争对手中国正迅速扩大其第五代战斗机机队规模的背景下，此次演习可能为印度空军提供与先进隐身战机执行战术任务的第一手经验，并深入了解此类战机如何整合传感器数据、作为网络化部队的一部分运作，以及如何增加敌方雷达探测的难度。
At a time when India’s rival China is rapidly expanding its fleet of fifth-generation fighters, the exercise could give the Indian Air Force a first-hand experience of tactical missions with advanced stealth aircraft and gain insight into how such jets can integrate sensor data, operate as part of a networked force and complicate detection by adversary radars.
印度空军副参谋长阿舒托什·迪克西特（Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit）表示，随着战争形态的不断变化，名为“Tarang Shakti”的联合演习将帮助各国参与者应对未来的挑战。
Indian vice chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, said as the character of warfare changes, the drills, named “Tarang Shakti,” will help participants prepare for the challenges “of tomorrow.”
“我们举办‘Tarang Shakti’演习的目的不是为了展示我们已经掌握的技能，而是为了发现我们还需要学习的内容，”他在周三对记者们说。“各国参与者都会带来自己的作战经验；将这些经验结合在一个真实的训练环境中，有助于我们验证各种假设、检验现有程序的有效性、了解不同的空中力量运用方式，并提升各军种之间的协同作战能力。”
“We do not conduct Tarang Shakti to demonstrate what we already know. We conduct it to discover what we still need to learn,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “Our partners bring their own operational experience. Bringing these together in a realistic training environment allows us to test assumptions, challenge procedures, understand different methods of employing air power and improve interoperability.” The participation of F-35 stealth fighters in the Indian drills also underscores that New Delhi’s and Washington’s defense ties remain on a steady keel, despite their broader relationship coming under some strain over trade disputes and India’s purchases of Russian oil.
F-35隐形战斗机的参与进一步表明，尽管印美两国在贸易争端及印度购买俄罗斯石油等问题上存在分歧，但两国的防务合作关系依然稳定。
While the U.S. stealth fighter has twice featured at defense exhibitions in India and the Indian Air Force operated alongside F-35s during joint exercises in Australia two years ago, the upcoming drill marks the first time the aircraft will undertake tactical missions with Indian fighters from an Indian airbase.
虽然这种美国制造的隐形战斗机此前曾两次出现在印度的国防展览会上，印度空军也在两年前的澳大利亚联合演习中与F-35战斗机共同执行过任务，但此次演习将是F-35战斗机首次从印度空军基地出发、与印度战斗机共同执行战术任务。
Dixit said the air force also wants to use the air exercises to test lessons learned during India’s brief conflict with Pakistan in May last year in which both countries deployed fighter jets.
迪克西特还表示，印度空军希望通过这次演习检验去年5月印巴短暂冲突期间积累的经验——当时两国都出动了战斗机。
Besides the United States, France and UAE, other countries bringing air assets like surveillance and transport aircraft are Germany, Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Greece.
除了美国和法国之外，参与此次演习的还有阿联酋；其他提供侦察机、运输机等军用飞机的国家还包括德国、澳大利亚、孟加拉国、斯里兰卡和希腊。
The drills are being held soon after India held bilateral air exercises with Japan in which Tokyo deployed its fighter aircraft, the Mitsubishi F-2A fighter aircraft in India for the first time. That exercise, held Sept. 9-22, was seen as a signal of growing defense ties between New Delhi and Tokyo amid an assertive China in the Indo-Pacific.
此次演习是在印度与日本举行双边联合演习之后不久举行的。在那次演习中，日本首次向印度派遣了三菱F-2A战斗机。9月9日至22日举行的这次演习被视为在印太地区中国势力日益崛起的背景下，印日两国防务关系进一步巩固的象征。
“Our partnership has progressed beyond simply conducting exercises together to refining our tactical capabilities at a practical level,” Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff Gen. Takehiro Morita said Sept. 20 in Jodhpur where the drill was conducted.
日本航空自卫队参谋长森田昭彦将军9月20日在演习举办地乔德普尔表示：“我们的伙伴关系已超越单纯联合演习的层面，在实战层面提升了战术能力。”这项多国空中演习于周六开始，将于10月12日结束。
The multinational air drill starting Saturday will conclude on Oct. 12.