Overview

• Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff will lead the exercise with participation from the Army, Navy and Air Force alongside industry, R&D partners and academia.
• Air Marshal Rakesh Sinha said the drills will evaluate fielded drones and counter‑UAS systems to make India’s air-defence posture more robust.
• The exercise is scheduled for October 6–10 in the Central Sector, with defence sources pointing to locations in Madhya Pradesh.
• Officials described it as the largest such domestic drill since Operation Sindoor and said it will recreate elements of the May drone warfare to assess readiness and gaps.
• Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit noted counter-drone and GPS-jamming worked in May but warned adversaries have adapted, as he outlined the indigenous Sudarshan Chakra concept targeting 2035 with layers spanning counter-drone, aircraft and counter-hypersonic capabilities.