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AULI, India — U.S. and Indian Army snipers trained side by side on Sept. 22 during Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2026, engaging targets out to 580 meters with the Indian Army’s Sako TRG rifle chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum.
Mixed sniper teams of U.S. and Indian soldiers worked through a progression that started with a basic zero and advanced to engagements between 500 and 580 meters in wooded terrain, followed by additional shots around 520 meters on flatter ground, said Sgt. 1st Class Dylan Tinkey, recon platoon sergeant for 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division.
Tinkey said he is familiar with the weapon system after a 25-day subject matter expert exchange earlier this year at the Indian Army Sniper School in Mhow, India. “I really do love the rifle,” Tinkey said. “If you compare it to the Mark 22, it’s very similar. We can change the barrel on our Mark 22, and it’s also chambered in .338 Lapua.”
He added that he is aiming to have soldiers in his sniper section take on more of the instruction rather than relying solely on his own experience from the exchange in Mhow. “What I’m striving to do is have guys in the sniper section do more of the teaching,” Tinkey said. “I had a younger guy with me, a specialist who’s punching a little above his weight. I had him come to the sniper school with me, so he’s familiar with the rifle, and I want to see him teach it more, so he can develop himself and his juniors. If I have to step in, I absolutely will.”
The shooter-spotter process meshed smoothly between the two armies, with only minor differences in how corrections were communicated, he said. “It’s pretty universal as far as corrections,” Tinkey said. “We use mil corrections, and the communication is pretty much the same. Just minor differences.”
This marks Tinkey’s second trip to India in 2026, following his earlier subject matter expert exchange at the Indian Army Sniper School.
Yudh Abhyas 2026 is the 22nd iteration of the annual U.S. Army Pacific-sponsored bilateral exercise between the U.S. and Indian armies and is scheduled to conclude Sept. 27 with a formal closing ceremony. Initiated in 2004, the series is designed to enhance combined interoperability and strengthen the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
