India and Australia Open AUSTRAHIND 2026 Exercise in Kerala

The fifth edition of AUSTRAHIND, the joint army exercise between India and Australia, began on Monday, Oct. 19, in Kerala and runs to Nov. 1, with coastal and island operations at the centre of the training.

The exercise opened at the Foreign Training Node in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. About 120 personnel from each army take part, roughly 240 in total. India's contingent is built around the Garhwal Rifles with personnel from other arms and services. Australia's contingent comes from 13 Brigade. A New Zealand observer delegation is taking part for the first time.

What the troops will train on

The theme is Joint Sub-Conventional Operations in Island and Coastal Environment under Chapter VII of the UN Mandate. Training covers joint planning, tactical drills, surveillance and reconnaissance, protection of vital installations, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, with aerial and maritime parts.

That list points to the missions the two armies expect to face together. Island and coastal terrain demands small units that can move, watch and protect sites while air and sea support stays close. Disaster relief adds a second task that both countries perform often in the region, from cyclones to floods.

India's Ministry of Defence said the exercise aims to improve interoperability and build a common understanding of tactics for island and coastal terrain. In plain terms, officers and soldiers learn each other's procedures before a real operation forces them to work side by side.

A pattern that now alternates coasts

The previous edition ran at Irwin Barracks in Perth, Australia, from Oct. 13 to 26, 2025. Holding the fifth edition in Kerala returns the exercise to India and shifts the setting from an Australian base to a southern coastal city with direct access to the Indian Ocean.

The New Zealand observer role adds a wider regional note. Observers do not train in the main drills, but their presence signals interest in how India and Australia plan joint work in island and coastal settings.

Why it matters

Coastal and island drills in Kerala underline how both armies train for the Indian Ocean littoral and for disaster relief, the mission they are most likely to perform together. Neither army needs the other for a large land war scenario here. Both need partners who can arrive fast after a storm, secure key sites, survey damage and move aid across water and broken ground.

What happens next

AUSTRAHIND 2026 runs to Nov. 1, 2026. The closing days will show whether the planning and field drills produced procedures both sides can reuse, from shared communications to joint protection of installations. The next edition will test whether the observer interest grows and whether the coastal theme stays, as both armies keep building routines for the waters and coasts where they meet.