India-US troops to train across two theatres in Yudh Abhyas

NEW DELHI: The Indian and US armies will next month put the same troops through the Rajasthan desert and the Himalayan heights in a single edition of their annual Yudh Abhyas exercise, a two-theatre format being attempted for the first time.

Key points

• The exercise will then shift to Auli, at an altitude of around 2, 500 metres and roughly 95 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
• The US Army is learnt to be bringing back its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), to the exercise.
• In the air domain, the Indian Air Force and US Air Force conduct Cope India.
• Yudh Abhyas began in 2004 as a platoon-level exercise focused on peacekeeping operations and has since expanded considerably in scope and complexity.
• The Army is projected to operate M777 ultra-light howitzers during the mountain phase, including their employment from positions accessible by helicopter.

In practice, the 22nd edition begins in the first week of September at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges near Bikaner before the contingents move to Auli in Uttarakhand, roughly 95km from the Line of Actual Control with China, sources remarked.

"The two-phase format is meant to expose the troops to fundamentally different operational conditions, combining the open manoeuvre space and long-range fires of the western deserts with the altitude, terrain and logistical constraints of the Himalayas, " a source remarked.

Notably, the Mahajan phase is projected to focus heavily on long-range and precision fires, with India probable to deploy Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers and K9 Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzers. The US Army is learnt to be bringing back its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), to the exercise.

According to sources, the AH-64E Apache attack helicopters are additionally slated to participate, bringing Hellfire missiles, 70mm rockets and their 30mm chain guns into the exercise's fire-support architecture.

Notably, the exercise will then shift to Auli, at an altitude of around 2, 500 metres and roughly 95 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The focus there will move towards high-altitude warfare, air mobility, infantry manoeuvres and logistics.

For context, the Army is projected to operate M777 ultra-light howitzers during the mountain phase, including their employment from positions accessible by helicopter. The guns can be underslung and transported by Chinook heavy-lift helicopters into terrain where tracked artillery systems cannot easily operate.

Meanwhile, the US-origin M777 proved their mettle during Operation Sindoor and has become an significant component of the Army's mountain firepower, particularly as of its relatively low weight and ability to be rapidly deployed in tough terrain.

"A major component throughout both phases will be counter-unmanned aerial systems operations, covering the detection and classification of small drones, electronic warfare measures such as jamming and spoofing, and hard-kill interception. The exercise will additionally include the offensive apply of loitering munitions and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, " the source noted.

At Auli, the exercise will additionally test acclimatisation procedures, high-altitude logistics and infantry manoeuvres in terrain similar to that where the Indian Army has maintained a substantial deployment since the military standoff with China began in eastern Ladakh in May 2020.

Yudh Abhyas began in 2004 as a platoon-level exercise focused on peacekeeping operations and has since expanded considerably in scope and complexity. While command-post exercises focused on mission planning and coordination for UN-led operations, the exercise has generally alternated between India and the US, with field training initially centred on peacekeeping, counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism.

For context, the exercise has since evolved substantially, incorporating mountain warfare, electronic warfare, unmanned systems and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

In practice, the two countries now conduct more bilateral and multilateral military exercises with each other than with any other partner. In the maritime domain, the Indian and US navies participate in Malabar. It began as a bilateral India-US exercise in 1992 and has since expanded into a QUAD exercise involving Japan and Australia. The drill focuses on complex maritime operations including anti-submarine warfare, carrier operations and maritime domain awareness.

In practice, the two navies additionally conduct Salvex, a bilateral exercise focused on salvage and diving operations, besides regular passage exercises.

While Tiger Triumph is the tri-service amphibious and humanitarian assistance exercise involving the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force and their US counterparts on India's eastern seaboard, the two armies separately conduct Vajra Prahar, a special forces exercise.

In the air domain, the Indian Air Force and US Air Force conduct Cope India. A US contingent is additionally anticipated to participate in the latest edition of Tarang Shakti at Jodhpur next month.

In short, india-US troops to train across two theatres in Yudh Abhyas is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.