UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — INDIA-US JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE YUDH ABHYAS 2026 COMMENCES AT AULI AND MAHAJAN
Q1. Exercise Yudh Abhyas has been conducted annually between the Indian and US Armies since which year, and in its 2024 edition the Indian Army contingent was drawn principally from a battalion of which regiment?
- A. 2002; a battalion of the RAJPUT Regiment
- B. 2004; a battalion of the MADRAS Regiment
- C. 2004; a battalion of the RAJPUT Regiment
- D. 2008; a battalion of the ASSAM Regiment
Q2. Which one of the following statements best describes the standing of Exercise Yudh Abhyas among India's military exercises with the United States?
- A. It is the largest bilateral tri-service humanitarian assistance and amphibious exercise conducted by India with the United States.
- B. It is the largest annual Army-to-Army joint training exercise conducted by India with the United States, hosted alternately by the two countries.
- C. It is the largest bilateral Special Forces exercise conducted by India with the United States, held every alternate year in the United States.
- D. It is the largest bilateral naval exercise conducted by India with the United States, hosted every year in the Indian Ocean Region.
Q3. The 2026 edition of Exercise Yudh Abhyas has commenced simultaneously at how many training venues in India, and these venues are distributed across how many States?
- A. Two venues, situated in two different States
- B. Two venues, both situated within a single State
- C. Three venues, situated in three different States
- D. Three venues, situated in two different States
Q4. The Mahajan Field Firing Ranges, a venue of Exercise Yudh Abhyas, is described in official releases as a 'Foreign Training Node'. In this context, the term refers to:
- A. A liaison cell attached to Indian missions abroad that coordinates the deputation of Indian officers to foreign military academies
- B. A temporary tented camp raised on foreign soil by an Indian contingent for the duration of a joint exercise with a partner army
- C. An Indian Army training centre that imparts basic military training to foreign nationals recruited into the Indian Army
- D. A designated Indian Army training establishment earmarked for conducting joint training exercises with visiting foreign armies
Q5. Consider the following statements regarding the recent editions of Exercise Yudh Abhyas:
1. The 18th edition, held in 2022, was conducted in Uttarakhand.
2. The 20th edition was conducted at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan in September 2024.
3. The 2025 edition was held at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, which has been the exclusive venue for every edition hosted by the United States since the exercise began.
4. Since its inception the exercise has been hosted entirely on Indian soil, with the US Army contingent travelling to India in every edition.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The 18th edition, held in 2022, was conducted in Uttarakhand.
- The 20th edition was conducted at the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Rajasthan in September 2024.
- The 2025 edition was held at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, which has been the exclusive venue for every edition hosted by the United States since the exercise began.
- Since its inception the exercise has been hosted entirely on Indian soil, with the US Army contingent travelling to India in every edition.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q6. Among the drills rehearsed by the two contingents in the 2025 edition of Yudh Abhyas, alongside mountain warfare and casualty evacuation, was 'rock craft'. In military training, this term denotes:
- A. The construction of stone sangars and rock shelters as field fortifications in mountainous terrain
- B. Techniques of climbing, descending and negotiating steep rock faces and cliffs in mountainous terrain
- C. The use of natural rock formations as camouflage to conceal troops and equipment from aerial surveillance
- D. The quarrying and dressing of rock by engineer detachments to construct tracks and helipads at high altitude
Q7. Which one of the following is the high-altitude Himalayan venue that hosted the 18th edition of Exercise Yudh Abhyas in 2022 and again features among the venues of the 2026 edition?
- A. Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh
- B. Umroi, Meghalaya
- C. Mahajan, Rajasthan
- D. Auli, Uttarakhand
Q8. Under the existing legal framework in India, an area such as the Mahajan Field Firing Ranges is declared as an area in which field firing and artillery practice may be carried out periodically by which one of the following?
- A. The State Government, by notification under the Manoeuvres, Field Firing and Artillery Practice Act, 1938
- B. The Ministry of Defence, by notification issued under the provisions of the Cantonments Act, 2006
- C. The District Collector, by order under the Arms Act, 1959, upon requisition by the local Army formation
- D. The Ministry of Home Affairs, by notification issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005
Q9. Consider the following India-United States joint military exercises:
1. Vajra Prahar - a joint Special Forces exercise of the two Armies, hosted alternately in India and the United States.
2. Tiger Triumph - a bilateral tri-service humanitarian assistance and disaster relief amphibious exercise.
3. Cope India - a bilateral naval exercise conducted exclusively in the Bay of Bengal.
4. Malabar - an exclusively bilateral India-US naval exercise, held only in the Indian Ocean Region.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Vajra Prahar - a joint Special Forces exercise of the two Armies, hosted alternately in India and the United States.
- Tiger Triumph - a bilateral tri-service humanitarian assistance and disaster relief amphibious exercise.
- Cope India - a bilateral naval exercise conducted exclusively in the Bay of Bengal.
- Malabar - an exclusively bilateral India-US naval exercise, held only in the Indian Ocean Region.
- A. 2 and 3
- B. 1 and 2
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 3 and 4 only
Q10. Joint military exercises such as Yudh Abhyas are now carried forward under a ten-year bilateral defence instrument concluded by India and the United States in 2025. Which one of the following correctly identifies that instrument and the level at which it was concluded?
- A. The Defence Technology and Trade Initiative, concluded by the two Foreign Ministers on the margins of the Quad Leaders' Summit
- B. The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement, concluded by the two National Security Advisers at the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue
- C. The Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership, concluded by the two Defence Ministers on the margins of the ADMM-Plus meeting
- D. The General Security of Military Information Agreement, concluded by the two Foreign Secretaries on the margins of the East Asia Summit
Q11. Exercise Yudh Abhyas trains the two sides for counter-terrorism operations in a sub-conventional scenario. On the Indian side, the exercise is conducted by which one of the following?
- A. The Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy, functioning under the Ministry of Defence
- B. The Armed Forces Special Operations Division of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, Ministry of Defence
- C. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the high-altitude force under the Ministry of Home Affairs
- D. The Indian Army, under the Ministry of Defence, with contingents drawn from its infantry regiments
Q12. Consider the following statements regarding the stated aim and training content of recent editions of Exercise Yudh Abhyas:
1. The aim includes enhancing the joint military capability of both sides to undertake counter-terrorism operations in a sub-conventional scenario under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
2. Recent editions have included training for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations in addition to combat drills.
3. Working groups in the 2025 edition covered unmanned aerial systems and counter-UAS operations, information warfare, communications and logistics.
4. The exercise is conducted under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter and is confined to unarmed peacekeeping observer duties, excluding peace-enforcement tasks.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The aim includes enhancing the joint military capability of both sides to undertake counter-terrorism operations in a sub-conventional scenario under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
- Recent editions have included training for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations in addition to combat drills.
- Working groups in the 2025 edition covered unmanned aerial systems and counter-UAS operations, information warfare, communications and logistics.
- The exercise is conducted under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter and is confined to unarmed peacekeeping observer duties, excluding peace-enforcement tasks.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 3 only
- D. 4 only