U.S. and Indian troops storm in Himalayas in joint air assault

U.S. and Indian soldiers flew into battle together aboard Indian Army helicopters on Sept. 25, seizing two objectives in a combined air assault in the Himalayan training area of Auli during exercise Yudh Abhyas 2026.

The mission mixed troops from both armies inside the same units, the U.S. Army said. Each of the two assaulting companies, led by U.S. company commanders, had two U.S. Army platoons and one Indian Army platoon. A separate Indian Army company acted as a decoy, with two Indian platoons and one U.S. platoon.

Battalion scouts went in first to watch the objective area. The lead company then moved into assault positions and cut off and secured the first objective, while a second company surrounded the second one. U.S. soldiers flew in aboard Indian Army Dhruv Mk III helicopters, built by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics, landed near the second objective and moved into position on foot. Indian Army soldiers followed in a separate helicopter, sliding down ropes to the ground to join the attack. After taking both objectives, the combined force quickly set up defensive positions.

The day before, U.S. ground commanders and the Indian aviation task force held a joint planning meeting, and U.S. soldiers practiced getting in and out of the Dhruv on the ground before flying in it.

“The integration between the ground force and the aviation task force, particularly the pilots, is integral to an operation like this,” said Capt. Gaston Adam, deputy operations officer for the 1st Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division. “You have to be able to look that pilot in the eye and trust they’re going to get you there safely. It builds confidence in the soldiers that they’re actually going to reach their objective and can focus on their mission.”

The Sept. 25 mission was the first of three planned air assaults, with repeats scheduled for Sept. 26 and Sept. 27 using different mixes of troops. Adam said later rounds could put an Indian Army company commander in charge of a combined force of U.S. and Indian platoons.

“It just goes to show that even though we’re mixing our formations together, we can still work together and execute a good plan,” said Capt. Gaston Adam.

Yudh Abhyas is the annual exercise between the U.S. and Indian armies, sponsored by U.S. Army Pacific and held since 2004. The 2026 edition, the 22nd, opened Sept. 15 and brought together about 600 soldiers from each side. This year it ran at two sites at the same time: Auli, in the mountains of Uttarakhand, and the Mahajan Field Firing Range in the Rajasthan desert.

At Mahajan, U.S. and Indian gunners fired the M777 lightweight howitzer together, including live fire and drills in which crews shoot and then quickly relocate to avoid return fire. U.S. soldiers there also showed Indian troops the U.S. Army’s M-LIDS mobile counter-drone system, which remained under U.S. operation throughout.

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