Troops of the Indian Army’s Southern Command conducted Exercise Agni Varsha at the Pokhran Field Firing Range in Rajasthan on Tuesday (February 24, 2026), reaffirming the force’s operational preparedness and integrated combat capability in the desert sector. According to the Army, the large-scale integrated fire and manoeuvre exercise demonstrated the coordinated employment of combined arms, precision long-range fires, and network-enabled command and control in a realistic battlefield environment. Held in the Thar desert, the exercise validated the seamless integration of mechanised forces across multiple domains, highlighting speed, accuracy, and synchronisation in combat execution. Foreign defence journalists from 25 countries witnessed the drills, gaining first-hand exposure to the Army’s evolving war-fighting capabilities. The validation exercise underscored the Army’s continued emphasis on technology infusion, indigenisation and capability development, the release said.

Source: The Hindu February 25, 2026 03:22 UTC