CDS 2 Defence Current Affairs 2026: Important Questions and Topics

Summary

CDS 2 Defence Current Affairs is the one area of the General Knowledge paper which is  built specifically focused for defence aspirants, and it is also the area most candidates leave and ignore until the last week. Questions on missiles, exercises, appointments and indigenous platforms appear in this paper each and every year, and such questions are factual, meaning that  they are fully scorable with revision alone.

This article covers the important defence topics which should not be ignored by any student for the upcoming exam on 13 September 2026. This provides the key defence updates from January to August 2026, and a set of practice questions in the format UPSC prefers.

1. Why Defence Current Affairs Deserve a Separate Revision

General Knowledge in CDS paper carries 120 questions, and defence related topics usually account for a small but reliable share. The advantage with these questions is that they carry almost no ambiguity. You either know that a missile is surface to air, or you do not know anything about that missile. 

The second important benefit of this section which cannot be ignored is that the same type of questions and topics return in the SSB interview in the final stage, where knowledge and awareness to defence related topics is expected by every candidate. Time spent on these topics not only help you to clear your phase 1 but also get you ready for the final interview.

2. Topics that are often repeated in CDS 2 Defence Current Affairs

Topic Area	What to Revise
Missiles and systems	Type of missile system, its range the category of missile developing agency, launch site of the missile
Joint exercises	Partner country, services involved in the joint exercise and the host nation
Appointments	Service chiefs vice chiefs command level appointments
War Ships and aircraft	Commissioning dates, builder, class and its strategic role
Operations and policy	Named operations, defence production figures, procurement decisions
Static defence knowledge	Ranks and insignia, commands and headquarters, training academies

Of these the safest is static defence knowledge. The ranks, commands and academy location are the same every year so you learn them once and get marks every time you try.

3. Joint Exercises Worth Memorising for CDS 2 – 2026

Exercise	Partner and Service
Malabar	India USA Japan Australia naval
Yudh Abhyas	India and USA army
INDRA	India and Russia
Varuna	India and France, naval
Garuda	India and France air force
Desert Knight	India, France and UAE air force
Tarang Shakti	Multinational hosted by India
Pitch Black	Multinational hosted by Australia

Learn these in pairs. Most questions from UPSC are on which countries are participating in a particular exercise or which service is conducting it.

4. Key Defence Updates from 2026

Important Appointments

• General Dhiraj Seth assumed the office of 31st Chief of Army Staff on 1 July 2026

• Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit took over as Vise Chief of Air Staff

• Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar assumed charge as 48th Vise Chief of the Naval Staff

CDS 2 Defence Current Affairs 2026: Major Missiles and Systems

• DRDO carried out three consecutive flight tests at Chandipur, Odisha on 10 and 11 June 2026 to demonstrate a multi layered Ballistic Missile Defence capability in conjunction with the Naval Anti Ship Missile Medium Range.

• Research Centre Imarat flight tested RudraM-II, an air to surface missile with the Indian Air Force on 2 June 2026

• Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile was tested off the coast of Odisha, with Aeronautical Development Establishment, Bengaluru as the nodal laboratory

• DRDO flight tested the Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket in July 2026

• VSHORADS, a man portable air defence missile, completed flight trials at Chandipur Test fired Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile off the coast of Odisha, with Aeronautical Development Establishment, Bengaluru as the nodal laboratory

• DRDO conducts flight test of Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket in July 2026

• VSHORADS, a man portable air defence missile completed flight trials at Chandipur

CDS 2 Defence Current Affairs 2026: Major Platforms and Production

• INS Anjadip was commissioned on 27 February 2026 at Chennai, the 4th ship of the Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft project

• Indigenous Netra Airborne Early Warning and Control system cleared for Final Operational Clearance

• Defence production in India of around Rs 1.78 lakh crore in FY 2025-26.

5. Practice Questions in the CDS Format

Q1. VSHORADS, tested by DRDO, belongs to which category of missile systems?

(a) Anti-tank guided missile 

(b) Man portable air defence system 

(c) Submarine launched ballistic missile (

d) Anti-radiation missile. 

Answer: (b)

Q2. Exercise Varuna is conducted between the navies of India and which country?

(a) Russia

 (b) Japan

 (c) France 

(d) United Kingdom. 

Answer: (c)

Q3. INS Anjadip, commissioned in 2026, belongs to which class of vessels?

(a) Guided missile destroyer 

(b) Anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft 

(c) Landing platform dock 

(d) Survey vessel.

 Answer: (b)

Q4. The Integrated Test Range used for several DRDO missile trials is located at?

(a) Sriharikota 

(b) Chandipur 

(c) Thumba 

(d) Balasore city. 

Answer: (b)

Q5. Which organisation developed the RudraM series of missiles?

(a) ISRO 

(b) HAL 

(c) DRDO

(d) BEL. 

Answer: (c)

6. How to Revise Defence Current Affairs in the Final Week

• • Restrict yourself to January to August 2026 rather than a longer window
• • Use a monthly capsule instead of daily newspapers at this stage
• • Revise static defence knowledge first since it is guaranteed and unchanging
• • Convert every item into a question format because recognition is what the exam tests
• • Revisit the same capsule three times rather than reading three different sources once