Yudh Abhyas

Female soldiers of the Indian Army and the US Army train together during Yudh Abhyas 2022.

Yudh Abhyas (lit. 'train-ing for war')^[1] is an annual training practice between the United States Army and Indian Army.

Objectives

Yudh Abhyas is a bilateral practice session on warfare related activities between Armies of India and the United States.^[2] It is called one of the largest running joint military training and defence cooperation between the US and India.^{[citation needed]}

Yudh Abhyas training includes various types of technical and operational activities exchanged between armies of India and USA.^[3][4]

Training Exercises

This exercise has been active since its inception in the year 2002.^[5][6]

The 16th edition of the exercise was held in February 2021 at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan, India.^[7]

From 15 to 29 October 2021, the 17th edition was held at the Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska, United States. The exercise included 350 personnel from each Indian and US Armies.^[8][9]

From 16 November to 1 December 2022, the 18th edition of the exercise was conducted in Auli, Uttarakhand, India. This edition included US Army soldiers of 2nd Brigade of the 11th Airborne Division and Indian Army soldiers from the Assam Regiment. The exercise also focused on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.^[8][10]

The 19th joint exercise was held in 2023 in Fort Wainwright, Alaska.^[10]

The 2024 (20th) edition of the exercise will be the largest till date with each side contributing 600 soldiers. M142 HIMARS and Stryker of the US Army will also feature in the exercise. The exercise will take place from 9 to 24 September 2024 at Mahajan Field Firing Range, Rajasthan.^[11][12] Indian Army is represented by X Corps which is under the aegis of South Western Command.^[13] The primary focus of the exercise was counter-terrorism operations along with artillery, heavy machine gun firing and operations of attack helicopters like Apache, Prachand and Rudra.^[14]

See also

• Indian Armed Forces
• US Armed Forces
• Malabar (naval exercise)

References

1. "Learning to Operate 'At the Speed of Trust'" (PDF). AUSA. 2013.
2. Peri, Dinakar (29 November 2022). "Five bilateral Army exercises under way, including 'Yudh Abhyas' in Uttarakhand". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
3. Bisht, Suraj Singh (30 November 2022). "Expanding India-US ties — glimpses from joint training exercise 'Yudh Abhyas' underway in Auli". ThePrint. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
4. "Watch: Indian Army Soldiers Display Hand-To-Hand Combat Skills During 'Yudh Abhyas 2022'". NDTV.com. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
5. "rediff.com Special: Indo-US defence relations are on an upswing". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
6. "U.S., India In Military Exercise". Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
7. Singh, Suchet Vir (2022-11-18). "India-US training exercise 'Yudh Abhyas' goes high altitude this year, to LAC in Uttarakhand". ThePrint. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
8. "India, US armies hold joint exercise near border with China. Watch". Hindustan Times. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
9. "Indian Army Contingent Departs for 17th Edition of Indo-US Joint Military Exercise "Ex Yudh Abhyas 2021" at Joint Base Elmendorf – Richardson, Alaska (USA)". Press Information Bureau. 2021-10-14. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
10. "Yudh Abhyas 2022: Highlights from on going India-US joint military exercise in Uttarakhand". The Economic Times. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
11. "Largest India-US military exercise in Rajasthan from September 9". India Today. 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
12. Peri, Dinakar (2024-09-08). "Military diplomacy in top gear with back-to-back exercises for three Services". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
13. @adgpi (2024-09-16). "Troops of #IndianArmy & #USA train together to bolster interoperability and enhance synergy between forces of both the Nations in the 20th edition of the Joint..." (Tweet). Retrieved 2024-09-16 – via Twitter.
14. ANI (2024-09-21). "'Exercise Yudh Abhyas': India, US hold multiple drills in Rajasthan". ThePrint. Retrieved 2024-09-21.