Exercise Desert Hunt 2025: Tri-Service Special Forces Drill
Why in the news
The Ministry of Defence reported on 1 March 2025 that the Indian Air Force had conducted an integrated exercise for the special forces of all three services at Jodhpur.
Key facts
- Exercise Desert Hunt 2025 was held from 24 to 28 February 2025 at Air Force Station Jodhpur.
- The Indian Air Force was the conducting service.
- Army contingent: Para (Special Forces); Navy contingent: Marine Commandos (MARCOS); Air Force contingent: Garud (Special Forces).
- Drills covered airborne insertion, precision strikes, hostage rescue, counter-terrorism operations, combat free fall and urban warfare.
- The objective was to improve interoperability so the three units can respond swiftly to emerging security challenges.
| Service | Special forces unit |
|---|---|
| Indian Army | Para (Special Forces) |
| Indian Navy | Marine Commandos (MARCOS) |
| Indian Air Force | Garud (Special Forces) |
About tri-service special forces
Each service keeps its own elite unit for specialised missions. Joint exercises such as this let the units rehearse combined operations, share tactics and test command coordination under realistic battlefield conditions. Senior officials observed the drills.
Exam angle
- Match each special forces unit with its service; this is a favourite static question.
- Note the venue (Jodhpur) and the conducting service (IAF) for exercise-based questions.
- Theme words to remember: interoperability, jointness, synergy.