• The exercise aimed to enhance shared logistics capacity for quick and effective responses to regional humanitatarian needs.

• What? QUAD Partner Successfully Conducted 1st FTX
• QUAD Partners:  India, the USA, Australia and Japan
• On the Sidelines of: Operation Christmas Drop
• Where? Andersen Air Force Base, Guam
• Duration of Exercise: From December 08 to December 12, 2025
• FTX Conducted as Part of: Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN)
• Key Focus: To enhance Disaster Response Capabilities of QUAD Partners

About FTX:
ILPN: The exercise operationalised coordination under the Indo-Pacific Logistics Network (IPLN), a Quad framework aimed at strengthening logistics interoperability, information sharing, and coordinated logistics support during Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations.
Training Activities: The exercise bolstered the disaster response capacity of QUAD partners through training activities like: boarding a Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) C-130H transport aircraft.

• It was mainly focused on improving interoperability and coordination capabilities of QUAD partners.

Significance: FTX, along with Tabletop Exercise (TTX) held in April 2025 at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) in the USA, reaffirmed the QUAD Group’s commitment to strengthening practical cooperation to address regional challenges and to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific.
About Operation Christmas Drop: Launched in 1952, Operation Christmas Drop is the world’s longest-running humanitarian airlift mission, conducted by the United States Air Force (USAF). It is carried out annually for about two weeks in December across Pacific island nations, with the primary objective of delivering food, medical supplies, and other essential relief materials to remote and isolated island communities.
About QUAD:
Nature of Group: It is an informal group  of 4 countries that aims to strengthen cooperation, ensure maritime security, economic growth, and regional stability in the Indo-Pacific, countering China’s rising influence in the region.
Background: The QUAD group was originally conceptualised by Japan’s then Prime Minister (PM) Shinzo Abe in 2007. But, the group was formally revived in 2017.
QUAD Leaders’ Summit: The 1st QUAD Leaders’ Summit was held virtually in 2021.

• In 2024, The USA hosted the 4th QUAD Leaders’ Summit held in Wilmington.
• India is the host country for 5th QUAD Leaders’ Summit which is scheduled to be held in 2025.