diff --git a/integ-test/src/test/java/org/opensearch/sql/plugin/AnalyticsEngineCompatIT.java b/integ-test/src/test/java/org/opensearch/sql/plugin/AnalyticsEngineCompatIT.java
index 5cd89fa7cd9..f6ec903c395 100644
--- a/integ-test/src/test/java/org/opensearch/sql/plugin/AnalyticsEngineCompatIT.java
+++ b/integ-test/src/test/java/org/opensearch/sql/plugin/AnalyticsEngineCompatIT.java
@@ -5,17 +5,55 @@
 
 package org.opensearch.sql.plugin;
 
+import static org.junit.Assume.assumeTrue;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
-import org.opensearch.test.rest.OpenSearchRestTestCase;
+import org.opensearch.client.Request;
+import org.opensearch.client.Response;
+import org.opensearch.sql.legacy.OpenSearchSQLRestTestCase;
+import org.opensearch.sql.legacy.TestUtils;
 
 /**
  * Smoke test: verifies that opensearch-sql loads cleanly alongside arrow-flight-rpc and
  * analytics-engine. A successful cluster start is the only assertion — no sql-specific logic runs.
+ *
+ * <p>This test is only meaningful when the analytics-engine plugin is installed; the dedicated
+ * {@code :integ-test:analyticsEngineCompatIT} Gradle task bundles the plugin stack for exactly that
+ * purpose. Other lanes can still discover this class — notably the distribution integ-test
+ * pipeline, which scans every {@code *IT} class against the built distribution and may run with the
+ * security plugin enabled and without analytics-engine. A {@code build.gradle} exclude does not
+ * protect against that pipeline, so the test guards itself instead:
+ *
+ * <ul>
+ *   <li>It extends {@link OpenSearchSQLRestTestCase} so the REST client honours the {@code https},
+ *       {@code user}, and {@code password} system properties of a secured cluster (a bare {@code
+ *       OpenSearchRestTestCase} speaks plain HTTP and gets its connection closed during client init
+ *       on a TLS-secured port).
+ *   <li>It skips via an assumption when analytics-engine is absent, so a build without the plugin
+ *       reports the test as skipped rather than failed.
+ * </ul>
  */
-public class AnalyticsEngineCompatIT extends OpenSearchRestTestCase {
+public class AnalyticsEngineCompatIT extends OpenSearchSQLRestTestCase {
+
+  /**
+   * Skips the suite unless the analytics-engine plugin is installed. Runs after the framework has
+   * established the (security-aware) REST client, so the lookup itself succeeds on both plain and
+   * secured clusters.
+   */
+  @Before
+  public void requireAnalyticsEngine() throws IOException {
+    Response response = client().performRequest(new Request("GET", "/_cat/plugins?h=component"));
+    String installedPlugins = TestUtils.getResponseBody(response, true);
+    assumeTrue(
+        "analytics-engine plugin not installed — skipping coexistence smoke test",
+        installedPlugins.contains("analytics-engine"));
+  }
 
   @Test
   public void testClusterStarted() {
-    // If the cluster booted, all three plugins loaded without classloader errors.
+    // If the cluster booted with analytics-engine present, all plugins loaded without classloader
+    // errors. The assumption above guarantees we only assert this where it is meaningful.
   }
 }