Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2025 ends in Alaska, strengthens India-US ties

The two-week India-US bilateral exercise in Alaska saw joint command drills, live-fire operations and training in sub-arctic terrain, reaffirming strong defence ties

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The 21st edition of Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2025, the annual bilateral army-to-army drill between India and the United States, concluded on September 14 after two weeks of intensive engagement, India’s Embassy in Washington DC said on Tuesday (India time).

 

The exercise signified that India-US ties across other sectors, despite friction over the White House’s tariffs on Indian goods, remain robust.

 

Yudh Abhyas has evolved significantly since its inception in 2002, when it began as a platoon-level exercise focused on peacekeeping, the embassy said. It has steadily grown in scale and complexity, alternating between locations in India and the US, it added.

 

“Today, it represents one of the most advanced and largest bilateral exercises conducted by India. Yudh Abhyas is a hallmark of the growing military-to-military interaction between India and the US, aligned with the Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership between both countries,” the embassy said.

 

Conducted from September 1 to 14 at Fort Wainwright and the Yukon Training Area in Alaska, the exercise brought together around 450 personnel of the Indian Army, led by a battalion of the Madras Regiment, with soldiers of the US Army’s 11th Airborne Division, the embassy said.

 

“The exercise saw command post drills wherein Indian and American officers worked side by side on operational planning, command and control, and coordination across brigade and battalion levels,” the statement said. This was followed by field training in challenging sub-arctic terrain, including manoeuvres and specialist training such as sniper and reconnaissance, it added. These activities allowed soldiers from both armies to adapt their procedures to one another and build familiarity under realistic combat conditions, it said.

 

The exercise also included live-fire activities during which artillery units from both sides conducted joint firing, the embassy said. This was supplemented by mortar live-fire drills that tested coordination in fire control and communications in demanding terrain, providing valuable lessons in precision, adaptability and joint targeting.