India and US Conduct Live-Fire Drills as Pakistan Starts Joint Exercises

The Indian Army and the United States Army conducted joint live-fire artillery drills on September 22 at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Bikaner, Rajasthan. These drills are part of Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2026, the 22nd edition of the annual bilateral exercise that began on September 15. Approximately 1,200 total personnel are participating across two sites: the Mahajan range and the Auli Foreign Training Node in Uttarakhand.

The training focuses on infantry operations in mountainous and semi-mountainous terrain, including jungle warfare and rock-face rappelling. The live-fire phase utilized M777 Ultra-Light Howitzers, indigenous Dhanush guns, Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, and the Mobile Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System. Personnel from the US Army's 11th Airborne Division and the Indian Army's Garhwal Regiment also practiced small-unit tactics using India-made AK-203 assault rifles.

Simultaneously, the Pakistan Army launched two separate joint exercises on September 22. The ninth edition of the Pakistan-Russia Joint Exercise, Druzhba-IX, is taking place at Cherat, while the second edition of the Pakistan-Oman Joint Exercise, Washaq Al Jabal-II, is being held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre in Pabbi. Both two-week programs aim to refine counter-terrorism drills and enhance interoperability between the participating forces.