Robotic Dogs, Drones and Snipers: India-US Troops Train in High-Tech Counterterrorism Drill at Auli

The mountains of Auli in Uttarakhand became the setting for a close-quarter counterterrorism drill on Wednesday, as Indian and US Army soldiers trained together in a simulated building-clearance operation.Assault teams moved through the operational scenario with support from drones, robotic dogs, trained canines and snipers, demonstrating how specialised personnel and emerging technologies can work together in confined and complex environments.The drill was conducted as part of Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2026, the ongoing India-US joint military exercise.Technology Takes the FieldThe exercise offered a glimpse of how modern military operations are increasingly combining conventional combat skills with unmanned and autonomous systems. Drones and autonomous platforms are being incorporated into training for surveillance and reconnaissance, while robotic systems can support troops in situations where entering a building may involve significant risks.The Auli drill brought these capabilities together with infantry assault teams, snipers and canine units in a coordinated close-quarter scenario. US Army personnel also interacted with Indian troops and observed the equipment being employed during the exercise.Two Locations, Different TerrainsThe 22nd edition of Yudh Abhyas is being conducted simultaneously at the Auli Foreign Training Node in Uttarakhand and the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan. According to the Ministry of Defence, 600 personnel from each country are participating in the exercise.Training at Auli focuses on improving the armies’ ability to operate in mountainous and semi-mountainous terrain, particularly through infantry-dominated operations and the employment of Integrated Battle Groups. At Mahajan, troops are being exposed to contemporary weapon systems and field-firing activities, adding another dimension to the joint training.Building InteroperabilityThe exercise is designed to strengthen interoperability through joint planning, coordinated execution and the exchange of operational best practices. According to a report in The Times of India, the opening ceremony was held at Auli on September 15, where Major General Amaresh Gunjan, General Officer Commanding, 14 Infantry Division, and Colonel Benjamin Jackman, Commander of the US Army’s 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division, addressed the participating contingents.With mountain warfare, infantry operations, surveillance systems and emerging battlefield technologies converging in one exercise, Yudh Abhyas 2026 is giving soldiers from both armies an opportunity to train together across diverse operational environments.

How an Enterprising Farmer Came Up With Innovative Solutions That Won Him the President’s Award

Necessity is the mother of invention, and that's what prompted Kadavendi Mahipal Chary, a 42-year-old farmer to come up with innovative solutions like mini-cultivator, mini-tractor, power weeders, and hydraulic lifts for farmers who couldn’t afford expensive equipment available in the market and so ended up doing back-breaking work on the field. Chary, who couldn’t complete his 10th board exams, worked as a bike mechanic. Later he returned to his village to work on his father’s 2-acre land. In those days he couldn’t afford laborers or cows to plough the land. With the knowledge he gained from repairing tractors he started designing the mini-cultivator for ploughing. Chary admits that his initial effort, which involved an auto-rickshaw motor, was unsuccessful. The mini-cultivator functioned after he modified a China-made engine that he had purchased in Hyderabad. After that, he started generating more, he claims. Buoyed by the positive response, Chary is currently producing cultivators by putting together engines from Kolhapur and materials and gears from Hyderabad. His company, Varun Engineering Works, employs 12 people, and they have so far sold about 4,000 cultivators. Chary states that with the machine, a farmer can typically till two to three acres of land in three hours using one liter of diesel. The equipment only costs Rs 50,000, whereas using cows would cost at least Rs 1 lakh and require upkeep. Apart from the cultivator, Chary has also developed a power weeder (20 units have been sold), a mini-truck attached to a trolley that can tow up to one ton, and a tractor hydraulic lift that can lift 500 kg. For his innovations, Chary received the President's Award in 2015 and the National Entrepreneurship Award in 2018