DUSTLIK 2026 – India and Uzbekistan deepen joint military exercise

DUSTLIK 2026 is more than a routine military drill. It is another sign that India is steadily building deeper defence coordination with trusted partners in strategically sensitive regions.

The seventh edition of the India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise DUSTLIK 2026 is being held at the Gurumsaray Field Training Area in Namangan, Uzbekistan, from 12 April to 25 April 2026, according to an official Press Information Bureau release from India’s Ministry of Defence.

The exercise is focused on improving interoperability and joint operational capability in semi-mountainous terrain, with special attention on special arms skills and special operations against unlawful armed groups, the same official release said. That makes DUSTLIK relevant well beyond ceremonial defence ties, because it is built around the kind of terrain and operational conditions that demand close coordination between forces.

India’s contingent includes 60 personnel, with 45 from the Indian Army, largely from a battalion of the Mahar Regiment, and 15 from the Indian Air Force. The Uzbek side is also fielding around 60 personnel from its Army and Air Force, according to the Ministry of Defence announcement.

Training already undertaken includes area familiarisation, tactical techniques and procedures, ambidextrous pistol firing, and UAV application and operational readiness. In the coming days, the exercise is expected to move into more complex joint missions in semi-mountainous terrain, further testing coordination between the two sides.

DUSTLIK has now become a recurring fixture in India-Uzbekistan military engagement. The Indian government says it is a yearly exercise conducted alternately in India and Uzbekistan, with the sixth edition held at the Foreign Training Node in Aundh, Pune, in April 2025. A separate PIB release on DUSTLIK-VI confirmed that the 2025 edition ran in Pune from 16 to 28 April 2025.

DUSTLIK 2026 offers a useful signal. One exercise does not alter regional security on its own, but repeated drills like this do show how India is building practical defence relationships, not just diplomatic optics. In a world shaped by security uncertainty, that steady habit of joint readiness matters.