Leh/Jammu: Northern Army Commander, Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma, on Thursday witnessed ‘Exercise AstraShakti’ in the icy heights of the high-altitude areas of the Union Territory of Ladakh, officials said.
The AstraShakti exercise is currently underway as a validation of long-range precision artillery firepower, swarm drones, counter-unmanned aerial surveillance systems, commando operations, and synergy with the ITBP in the icy expanse and high-altitude areas of Ladakh.
“Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, Army Commander Northern Command, witnessed Exercise AstraShakti — a thunderous validation of long-range precision artillery firepower, swarm drones, counter-UAS systems, commando ops, and synergy with the ITBP in the icy expanse and high-altitude areas of Ladakh,” the Northern Command said in a post on X.
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 symbolized 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”.
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.
