Exercise ‘AstraShakti’: In the freezing heights of Ladakh, Indian Army showcased next-generation warfare, precision artillery, swarm drones and night operations, under the watch of Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, proving that the country’s new doctrine leaves no room for hesitation.
High in the frozen deserts of Ladakh, the mountains thundered as India’s Northern Command demonstrated its firepower in one of the most formidable battle exercises in recent years, “AstraShakti”. Conducted at dizzying altitudes where even breathing tests endurance, the operation was not merely a display of weaponry but a declaration of intent.
Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma, general officer commanding-in-chief, Northern Command, personally oversaw the drills, witnessing the synchronised strikes that stretched from precision artillery fire to swarm drone offensives and counter-UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) maneuvers.
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The exercise also featured commando operations conducted jointly with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), signalling seamless coordination between India’s mountain warfare units and paramilitary forces guarding the frontier.
Officials described the exercise as a “thunderous validation” of India’s capability to dominate across multiple domains: land, air and electronic warfare. Every strike and every explosion in the icy expanse was choreographed to affirm what the Northern Command calls “technology meeting tenacity”.
According to army sources, the AstraShakti was a reaffirmation of the Indian Army’s readiness for high-altitude conflict, where modern technology and human grit must operate in perfect harmony.
“The operation embodied seamless synergy, surveillance fusion and force preservation,” said an official statement, adding that the drills symbolised the Northern Command’s “readiness, innovation and indomitable spirit in the world’s toughest battle space”.
But what truly highlighted the significance of AstraShakti was the shift in India’s military doctrine: a new and unapologetic stance being described internally as the “New Normal”.
Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, #ArmyCdrNC witnessed Exercise #AstraShakti – a thunderous validation of long range precision Artillery firepower, swarm drones, counter-UAS systems, commando OPs & #Synergy with #ITBP in the icy expanse and high altitude areas of #Ladakh.
The theatre level… pic.twitter.com/PxXfrHCMHV
— NORTHERN COMMAND – INDIAN ARMY (@NorthernComd_IA) October 30, 2025
Speaking from Bikaner, Rajasthan, Major General Manjinder Singh of the Sapta Shakti Command explained the changing mindset. “The Indian Army is following the political direction of the ‘New Normal’, under which any terror act on the country will be considered an act of war. The military has to prepare for such activities. A lot of technologies and capabilities have been introduced for this.”
He further emphasised the focus on maximum night training, revealing that 70 percent of drills are now conducted after dark, an adjustment that gives Indian forces an operational edge against adversaries who still rely heavily on daylight maneuvering.
The visual spectacle of AstraShakti – artillery barrages, Multiple Barrel Rocket Launch Systems (MBRLS) fire and drone swarms lighting up the night sky – echoed across the cold valleys of eastern Ladakh. The mountains trembled and so did the message: India’s Northern Command is prepared, practiced and perfectly aligned for any escalation.
For Pakistan and others watching from across the borders, the exercise was a reminder that India’s patience has evolved into precision and that deterrence now carries the unmistakable sound of AstraShakti, the power of the weapon itself.
As the dust settled on the ice, one fact stood clear that India’s frontier forces are ready, rehearsed and waiting.
