Examine the growing role of drone and counter-drone technologies in contemporary joint military exercises conducted by India.

Unmanned systems have moved from a supporting role to a decisive one. The Chief of Defence Staff noted that Operation Sindoor demonstrated the operational effectiveness and strategic value of indigenous UAVs and counter-UAS systems [5]. India's joint exercises increasingly mirror this shift.

Evidence of the growing footprint

• Bilateral Army exercises: In Nomadic Elephant (16th edition, Umroi, Meghalaya, July 2024) with Mongolia, employment of drones and counter-drone systems was listed alongside classic drills like cordon-and-search and heliborne operations [1].
• Dedicated expert tracks: In Yudh Abhyas 2025 (Fort Wainwright, Alaska), both armies rehearsed unmanned aerial systems and held working groups specifically on UAS and Counter-UAS operations, information warfare and electronic warfare [2]. The 22nd edition continued at Auli and Mahajan in September 2026 [3].
• Scaling up domestically: Vayu Samanvay-II (Desert Sector, 28–29 October 2025, Southern Command) integrated aerial and ground assets with fused multi-domain command-and-control in a contested electronic warfare environment [4].

Why the shift

• Cheap, attritable drones have proven capable of surveillance and precision strike, making airspace denial a frontline task.
• Counter-drone capability is now essential along sensitive frontiers and around critical infrastructure.
• Partner armies bring differing terrain experience — Arctic, desert, high-altitude — enriching Indian tactics.

Implications

• Doctrinal: Vayu Samanvay-II explicitly tested doctrinal precepts for drone and counter-drone operations [4].
• Procurement: its lessons feed capability development and accelerated induction of such systems [4].
• Atmanirbharta and diplomacy: showcasing indigenous platforms [5] builds partner confidence and export prospects.

However, exercise drills remain scripted and short; swarm attacks, GPS spoofing and jamming at scale are harder to replicate.

Joint exercises are thus becoming India's principal laboratory for unmanned warfare, converting foreign best practice into doctrine and induction. Institutionalising a standing counter-UAS module across all bilateral exercises, backed by indigenous systems, would align tactical learning with the self-reliance goal that Operation Sindoor validated [5].