Yudh Abhyas 2025: India and US Begin Joint Military Exercise in Alaska

On Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced that a contingent of the Indian Army had landed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, in the United States, for the 21st edition of 'Yudh Abhyas 2025,' which is set to take place from September 1 to 14.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote on social network "X" that an Indian Army detachment had arrived in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, for the 21st edition of Yudh Abhyas 2025 (September 1–14).

"Alongside US 11th Airborne Division troops, they'll train in heliborne ops, mountain warfare, UAS/counter-UAS and joint tactical drills - boosting UN PKO & multi-domain readiness."

Indian and US Troops in Yudh Abhyas

According to a statement from the Defence Ministry, the American soldiers are from the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, also referred to as the "Bobcats" of the Arctic Wolves Brigade, which is a part of the US Army's 11th Airborne Division, while the Indian soldiers are from a battalion of the Madras Regiment.

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Training Activities in the Exercise

Both troops will participate in a rigorous two-week schedule of tactical exercises that will include integration of artillery, aviation, and electronic warfare systems, heliborne operations, rockcraft, mountain warfare, casualty evacuation, and combat medical training.

Joint working groups will be led by subject-matter experts from both sides in important areas like communications, logistics coordination, UAS and counter-UAS techniques, and information warfare.

In order to demonstrate a common commitment to UN peacekeeping readiness and improved multi-domain operational capabilities, the exercise will culminate with cooperatively prepared tactical maneuvers, live-fire drills, and high-altitude combat simulations.

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Significance of Yudh Abhyas

In addition to strengthening military collaboration, "Yudh Abhyas," a pillar of Indo-US defense cooperation, also illustrates the growing strategic convergence between the two biggest democracies in the world.

The combined exercises are noteworthy because they take place in the midst of complex geopolitical issues, such as increased trade tensions and recent US criticism of India's energy connections with Russia.

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