At a glance
India holds dozens of joint exercises every year with friendly countries to build interoperability, share tactics (counter-terrorism, mountain, jungle and maritime warfare) and signal strategic partnerships. Most bilateral exercises are named, numbered by edition and alternate between the two countries. Exam questions usually test the pairing of an exercise with its partner country and service.
Key facts
- Oldest naval exercise with a major power: Malabar, begun with the US in 1992
- Malabar members today: India, US, Japan and Australia (Australia rejoined in 2020)
- Longest-running army exercise with the US: Yudh Abhyas, since 2002
- Only Indian tri-service exercise with the US: Tiger Triumph
- India–Russia: INDRA
- India–France: Shakti (army), Varuna (navy), Garuda (air force)
- India's first multinational air exercise as host: Tarang Shakti (2024)
- Indian Navy's multilateral gathering: MILAN, held at Visakhapatnam
- Common army venues in India: Foreign Training Nodes at Umroi (Meghalaya), Chaubatia and Auli (Uttarakhand), Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and the Mahajan Field Firing Range (Rajasthan)
- SAREX: the Indian Coast Guard's National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise, run under the National Maritime Search and Rescue Board
How it works
Bilateral exercises by country:
| Country | Army | Navy | Air Force / other |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA | Yudh Abhyas; Vajra Prahar (special forces) | Malabar (multilateral) | Cope India; Tiger Triumph (tri-service) |
| Russia | INDRA | INDRA Navy | — |
| France | Shakti | Varuna | Garuda |
| UK | Ajeya Warrior | Konkan | Indradhanush |
| Japan | Dharma Guardian | JIMEX | Shinyuu Maitri |
| Australia | AUSTRAHIND | AUSINDEX | — |
| Sri Lanka | Mitra Shakti | SLINEX | — |
| Nepal | Surya Kiran | — | — |
| Bangladesh | Sampriti | Bongosagar | — |
| Mongolia | Nomadic Elephant | — | — |
| Indonesia | Garuda Shakti (special forces) | Samudra Shakti | — |
| Singapore | Bold Kurukshetra | SIMBEX | — |
| Thailand | Maitree | — | — |
| Malaysia | Harimau Shakti | — | — |
| Maldives | Ekuverin | — | Dosti (coast guards, with Sri Lanka) |
| Oman | Al Najah | Naseem Al Bahr | Eastern Bridge |
| Egypt | Cyclone (special forces) | — | — |
| Saudi Arabia | Sada Tanseeq | — | — |
| UAE | Desert Cyclone | — | Desert Knight (with France) |
| Kazakhstan | Prabal Dostyk | — | — |
| Kyrgyzstan | Khanjar | — | — |
| Uzbekistan | Dustlik | — | — |
Major multilateral exercises India joins:
- Malabar: naval; India, US, Japan, Australia.
- RIMPAC: the world's largest naval exercise, led by the US near Hawaii.
- Pitch Black: air exercise hosted by Australia at Darwin.
- Red Flag: air combat exercise hosted by the US Air Force (including Red Flag Alaska).
- MILAN and Tarang Shakti: hosted by India's Navy and Air Force respectively.
Recent developments
- 15–28 Sep 2026: The 22nd edition of Yudh Abhyas with the US was held at the Auli Foreign Training Node (Uttarakhand) and the Mahajan Field Firing Range (Rajasthan).
- Nov 2025: The 28th Malabar was held in the western Pacific with a harbour phase at Guam.
Exam traps
- Malabar began in 1992 as a bilateral India–US exercise; Japan became a permanent member in 2015 and Australia rejoined in 2020.
- Shakti is with France, but Mitra Shakti is with Sri Lanka, Garuda Shakti with Indonesia and Harimau Shakti with Malaysia.
- Garuda (air force) is with France; Garuda Shakti (special forces) is with Indonesia.
- AUSTRAHIND is the army exercise with Australia; AUSINDEX is the naval one.
- Surya Kiran is with Nepal; Sampriti is with Bangladesh.
Quick check
- Q: Yudh Abhyas is held between India and which country? A: The United States.
- Q: Which India–Australia exercise is conducted by the two armies? A: AUSTRAHIND.
- Q: Nomadic Elephant is held with which country? A: Mongolia.
Further reading
In the news
Every time this topic has appeared in our current affairs, newest first:
- Week of 15–21 October 2026AUSTRAHIND 2026 begins in Thiruvananthapuram
- Week of 8–14 October 2026Coast Guard conducts SAREX-2026 off Paradip
- Week of 1–7 October 2026India–UAE Exercise Mountain Guardian 2026 begins in Uttarakhand