Indian, American Special Forces To Jointly Exercise On Commando Operations In Himachal

Taking their bilateral Special Forces cooperation and interoperability a notch higher, India and the US armies will jointly hold the 16th edition of the Vajra Prahar military exercises at the Special Forces Training School at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh beginning Monday (February 23, 2026).

Designed to deepen the bilateral defence cooperation, enhance interoperability, joint operational readiness, and enable exchange of advanced special operations tactics, techniques and procedures, the Indian and US armies will hold the exercise for a three-week period ending March 15, 2026.

“Through rigorous training in realistic scenarios, both contingents will strengthen mutual trust and operational synergy,” the Indian Army said in a post on microblogging site X.

The previous edition of the exercise was hosted by the US Army at Idaho in 2024. In the present edition, 45 special forces commandos from both armies would promote military cooperation through enhanced interoperability, jointness, and mutual exchange of best practices so that the two forces could jointly execute operations in both desert and semi-desert environment.

Indian Army’s special forces personnel would join the soldiers from the US Army’s Green Berets to jointly plan and execute operations as part of the Vajra Prahar exercise during the three-week period, the Indian Army said.

Like this time, the Indian Army had hosted the 14th edition of the exercise at Umroi in Meghalaya, joined by the Indian Air Force Garuds and Individual Augmentees.

During this exercise, the Indian and American troops held operations from aboard a Mi-17 helicopter at Shillong’s Umiam Lake. Other helocasting operations showcased high standards of precision, synergy, and professionalism.