A 60-member Indian Armed Forces contingent departed for Oskemen, Kazakhstan, on 28 September to participate in the ninth edition of the India–Kazakhstan Joint Military Exercise KAZIND-2026, announced PIB.

The exercise is scheduled to take place from 28 September to 11 October 2026. Kazakhstan will deploy a contingent of matching strength, comprising primarily personnel from its Land Forces.

The Indian contingent has been drawn mainly from a battalion of the Garhwal Rifles. It also includes personnel from other arms and services, along with members of the Indian Air Force.

KAZIND-2026 aims to enhance interoperability and strengthen the joint operational capabilities of the two armed forces. The exercise will prepare them to conduct joint counter-terrorism operations in a sub-conventional environment under a United Nations mandate.

Training will focus on operations in semi-urban and mountainous terrain. It will place particular emphasis on joint planning and execution, air mobility, and the integrated employment of unmanned aerial systems and counter-unmanned aerial systems capabilities.

The participating contingents will practise coordinated responses to terrorist actions, including raids, search-and-destroy missions, and cordon-and-search operations.

They will also train in securing helipads and landing sites, as well as conducting Special Heliborne Operations and other mission-specific activities.

A Joint Command Post and an Intelligence and Surveillance Centre will be established during the exercise. These facilities are intended to support coordinated planning, information-sharing and operational execution.

The training will culminate in a comprehensive validation exercise. During this phase, the two contingents will jointly employ rehearsed tactics, techniques and procedures against a simulated terrorist threat.

KAZIND has been conducted annually since 2016, when the exercise was initially instituted as Exercise Prabal Dostyk. The previous edition, KAZIND-2024, was held at Auli in Uttarakhand, while the 2023 edition took place at Otar in Kazakhstan.

KAZIND-2026 is expected to enable both sides to share operational experience, improve battlefield coordination and strengthen professional ties between their personnel.

The exercise will further deepen military-to-military cooperation between India and Kazakhstan and reaffirm their shared commitment to regional peace, stability and collective security.

PIB