They disembarked at Malta on 6 June 1878 and pitched camp at San Antonio. The 9th/10th were brigaded with the 1st Bombay Cavalry. Whilst in Malta, the force was inspected by the Duke of Cambridge, who bestowed his title on the 10th Bengal Cavalry, which was represented by one squadron. The eventual destination of the forces stationed in Malta was Cyprus, which had been ceded to Britain by Turkey in exchange for their support against Russia. But a day or so before departure for Cyprus, the regiment was prevented from embarking with the rest of the army, because 48 men were poisoned. Three men died in agony and the rest were permanently disabled. As a result, the regiment stayed in Malta until October, when they sailed back to Bombay. In February 1885, the 9th was ordered to convert to lancers and move off to join the British Army in Sudan. The regiment moved from Wazirabad to Kanpur, where they received lances and related equipment and reached Suakin in March 1885 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel AP Palmer. It saw action in Hashin, Tofrek, Tamai and T'Hakul. The regiment less one squadron left Sudan in June 1885 for Bombay, from where they travelled to Ambala. The 3rd squadron was required to stay in Suakin until 20 November 1885. The 9th stayed at Ambala until 1888, moved to Nowshera until 1891 – where it was part of the Buner Field Force to ensure the pacification of the Bunerwals. The regiment moved to Peshawar and took part in the durbar and review at Lahore for the Viceroy, Lord Elgin in November 1894. Following this, at Muridki, on the night of 20 December 1894, Daffadar Kartar Singh, bearing a grudge through loss of promotion, shot two officers, Risaldar Kesar Singh and the Commanding Officer, Colonel Ernle Money. He was overpowered, court martialled and publicly hanged on 31 January 1895. Two Sikh officers, who had encouraged the Daffadar were tried in a civil court and sentenced to life. The 9th were part of the Chitral Relief Force in April 1895 and received the battle honour 'Chitral'. They moved to Rawalpindi in May 1895. Following the re-organisation of 1895, the regiment retained their name and came under Punjab Command. On 10 August 1897, the regiment was ordered to proceed by train from Rawalpindi to Peshawar and became part of the ‘Peshawar column’ of the Tirah