Exercise Mountain Guardian 2026 Begins at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand

The correct answer is the United Arab Emirates. The Ministry of Defence announced that the India–UAE joint military exercise Mountain Guardian 2026 began at the Foreign Training Node in Chaubatia, Uttarakhand, with equal participation from both armies and mountain warfare as the theme. Option A, Saudi Arabia, is incorrect; India holds separate engagements with that country but this drill is not one of them. Option C, Oman, is a plausible distractor because India and Oman run well-known bilateral exercises across the services, yet the exercise named here is with the Emirati army. Option D, Qatar, is also wrong, as the release names only the United Arab Emirates as the partner. Aspirants should link the exercise name to the partner country, the hill venue in Uttarakhand and the mountain warfare focus, since question papers frequently pair an exercise with the wrong neighbour to test exactly this recall.

The correct answer is 92. The Ministry of Defence stated that a total of 92 personnel are taking part in the exercise, with the Indian Army and the UAE Army represented in equal numbers. The Indian contingent is drawn from a Bhairav Battalion and the Emirati contingent from a Mountain Infantry Battalion, and women officers and combatants from both armies have been included in specialist roles. Option A, forty-five, is wrong because that would describe only one contingent at best and does not match the figure given. Option C and option D both inflate the strength; exercises of that size do take place, but this particular drill at the Foreign Training Node in Chaubatia was announced with a combined strength of ninety-two. Candidates should remember that the number is shared equally, which is a detail examiners like to convert into a question about each side’s strength.

The correct answer is a Bhairav Battalion. According to the Ministry of Defence, the Indian Army contingent at Mountain Guardian 2026 comprises troops from a Bhairav Battalion, while the partner contingent from the United Arab Emirates comprises troops of a Mountain Infantry Battalion. The pairing is deliberate, because the drill is designed around operations in difficult mountainous ground and includes rock climbing, obstacle training, surveillance grids and drone operations. Option B is incorrect; Rashtriya Rifles units have a counter-insurgency role and were not named for this exercise. Option C is a distractor drawn from the airborne forces, which are not cited in the announcement. Option D is likewise wrong, since Assam Rifles is a central armed police force under a different chain of command and does not figure in this bilateral drill. Remember both unit names together, as either can be asked.