India, U.S. armies commence Bilateral exercise Yudh Abhyas
Why in News?
The Indian and US armies commenced the 22nd edition of Exercise Yudh Abhyas, scheduled from September 9-28, 2026, at Bikaner, Rajasthan, and Auli, Uttarakhand. The exercise features the deployment of an advanced US counter-drone system to India.
| UPSC Relevance: GS-2 International Relations: Bilateral Relations Prelims: India-US: Bilateral defence and security exercise |
About Yudh Abhyas:
- Nature: Annual bilateral Army exercise between India and the United States.
- Objective: Improve interoperability, i.e, the ability of both armies to communicate, plan and operate together and exchange operational experience.
- Training: Includes a command-post exercise, field training and a combined live-fire demonstration.
- Technology focus:
- Integration of long-range precision firepower, rocket systems and command-and-control networks.
- Introduce the Mobile Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (MLIDS), designed to counter threats from small and low-flying drones.
India-US Bilateral Defence and Security Exercises:
UPSC PYQ 2024:
Q. Which of the following statements about ‘Exercise Mitra Shakti-2023’ are correct?
1. This was a joint military exercise between India and Bangladesh.
2. It commenced in Aundh (Pune).
3. Joint response during counter-terrorism operations was a goal of this operation.
4. Indian Air Force was a part of this exercise
Select the answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 1, 2 and 4
(c) 1, 3 and 4
(d) 2, 3 and 4
Answer: (d)