The Indian Army has reached Egypt to participate in Exercise Bright Star 2025, one of the largest and longest-running multinational military exercises in the Middle East. Exercise Bright Star is a multilateral exercise organized by Egypt in collaboration with the United States since 1980.
- India has deployed more than 700 personnel from the Armed Forces and Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff to participate in Exercise Bright Star 2025, one of the largest and longest-running multinational military exercises in the Middle East.
- The 19th edition of this exercise, being held in Egypt from August 28 to September 10, 2025, is witnessing the participation of 43 countries, including 13 countries with direct military contingents and 30 as observers.
- The participation of the Indian Armed Forces in this exercise underscores India’s commitment to regional peace, stability, and security while enhancing jointness, interoperability, and cooperation with friendly nations.
Exercise Bright Star
- Exercise Bright Star is a multilateral exercise organized by Egypt in collaboration with the United States since 1980 and is one of the largest tri-service multilateral exercises in the region. This exercise is held every two years, with the previous edition taking place in 2023, in which several countries, including India, participated with their troops.
Origin of Exercise Bright Star
- It was conceptualized as a bilateral U.S.-Egypt exercise after the Camp David Accords (1977). The first edition took place in 1980 in Egypt. Since 1995, many nations have joined.
Super Garuda Shield 2025
- Super Garuda Shield is an annual multinational military exercise led by the Indonesian National Armed Forces and the United States Indo-Pacific Command, organized in Indonesia since 2007.
- For the first time, soldiers of the 11th Airborne Division fired FIM-92 Stinger missiles during a trial exercise. The FIM-92 Stinger is a shoulder-launched, surface-to-air missile.
- Originally established in 2006 as a bilateral information and training exchange between the United States and Indonesia under the name Garuda Shield, the exercise was expanded in 2022 to include additional partner nations, reflecting the growing importance of defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
Super Garuda Shield 2025
- In 2022, the word "Super" was added to the title of the exercise. This exercise is held annually in Jakarta, Indonesia. With more than 4,100 Indonesian and 1,300 U.S. troops participating, the 2025 edition of Super Garuda Shield will be the largest ever.
- This year’s participating countries include Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- Observer countries include Cambodia, India, and Papua New Guinea. It includes a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) live fire exercise.
