First India–US Special Forces Exercise “Tiger Claw 2025” Held in Uttar Pradesh.
Defence
From 26 May to 10 June 2025, the IAF’s elite Garud Commandos and the USAF’s Special Tactics Squadrons executed Tiger Claw 2025 — India and America’s first-ever independent bilateral Air Force Special Forces drill, hosted at the Garud Regimental Training Centre in Chandinagar, UP, and conducted across high-altitude and urban zones in North India .
- In a landmark departure from previous multi‐domain exercises, Tiger Claw focused exclusively on Special Forces interoperability, involving airborne and heliborne insertions (static‑line and free‑fall), CQB and hostage rescue, airfield seizure with JTAC integration, night-time high‑value target drills, combat casualty care, and ISR‑drone coordination.
- Over two intense weeks, commandos navigated terrains ranging from the plains of Punjab and Uttarakhand to the rugged heights of Himachal Pradesh, simulating real-world contingency scenarios.
- Central to the exercise was a mutual exchange of doctrine and tactics: war‑gaming, after‑action reviews, and live communications drills sharpened battlefield synergy. The USAF praised the Garuds’ terrain acumen and resilience, while Indian forces lauded the precision strike and tech-savvy methods of their American counterparts.
Main Point :- (i) Beyond training tactics, Tiger Claw took on strategic significance, reinforcing Indo‑US defence cooperation amid South Asia’s shifting geopolitical climate. While the US continues security assistance to Pakistan, this drill underscores its growing strategic trust in India and commitment to a Free and Open Indo‑Pacific.
(ii) Institutional momentum now favors making Tiger Claw an annual, rotational event, potentially incorporating the Indian Army’s Para‑SF, the Navy’s MARCOS, and US SOCOM units. It aligns closely with India’s budding Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD), based in Agra, and dovetails with the India‑US Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI)—opening avenues for shared comms tech, drones, and electronic‑warfare systems.
Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath
Governor: Anandiben Patel
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