Exercise Garuda Shakti 2026, the 11th edition of the India-Indonesia Joint Special Forces Exercise, began on Tuesday at Banyuwangi in Indonesia. It will run until November 6.

Troops from the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) make up the Indian contingent, and the Indonesian side has fielded personnel from its own Special Forces. The Indian Army team left for Indonesia on October 25.

This year the training is built around fighting in the jungle.

Exercise Garuda Shakti 2026 trains for jungle operations

According to the Ministry of Defence, the two contingents will work on special operations techniques for jungle terrain. The schedule includes obstacle crossing, combat marksmanship, mountaineering, air assault training and combat-hardening sessions. Before the team flew out, the Army said the troops would exchange tactics, techniques and procedures for jungle operations under counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism scenarios.

Both sides will also share what they know about weapons, equipment and operational practices.

A validation exercise will close the training

Exercise Garuda Shakti 2026 ends with a validation exercise set in real operational scenarios. It will test the endurance, coordination and combat readiness of both contingents, the ministry said. The aim of the series, officials said, is to build mutual understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the Special Forces of the two countries.

Indonesia hosts this edition after Bakloh in 2025

Garuda Shakti moves between the two countries. The 10th edition was held in India, at the Special Forces Training School in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh, from December 3 to 12, 2025.

That round was set in semi-mountainous terrain. It covered counter-terrorism drills, unarmed combat, combat shooting, sniping and heliborne operations, along with planning for drone, counter-drone and loitering munition strikes. The East Java jungle gives this year's edition different ground. Indian troops have trained in similar country this month, with Garhwal Rifles soldiers working through jungle, island and coastal drills alongside Australian troops at AUSTRAHIND 2026 in Kerala.

Indonesia also hosted the eighth edition in November 2022, at the Sangga Buana Training Area in Karawang, West Java. Jungle operations and strikes on terrorist camps were part of the training then.

Army exercise forms one part of a wider defence calendar

Garuda Shakti is the Army's slot in a regular calendar of India-Indonesia military engagements. The Ministry of External Affairs lists the naval exercise Samudra Shakti and the India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol, known as IND-INDO CORPAT, alongside it, a calendar IDW set out in its report on India-Indonesia defence ties.

Political contact has kept pace. Indonesian Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin travelled to New Delhi in November 2025 for the third India-Indonesia Defence Ministers' Dialogue with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Indonesia welcomed India's proposal there for a Joint Defence Industry Cooperation Committee to take forward technology transfer, joint research, certification and supply-chain links. Industry has been a running thread in the relationship, as seen in the defence pact covering Astra, BrahMos and Sabang port.

Coast Guard ship called at Jakarta this month

Indian Coast Guard Ship Shaunak made a goodwill visit to Jakarta from October 17 to 19. Its Commanding Officer and India's Defence Attaché called on the Head of Bakamla, Indonesia's maritime security agency, and discussed expanding cooperation between the two coast guards.