Indian Army to hold summer exercise in Rajasthan desert

The Indian Army will be conducting one of its largest-ever exercises, using battle tanks and armoured personnel carriers, in the Rajasthan desert this summer to validate its integrated theatre battle concept, an officer said.

The exercise, in which all formations and units under the Jaipur-based South Western Command will participate to validate doctrines in a joint service environment, will be held from March to May 2012, army spokesperson Col. Jagdeep Dahiya said here.

Defence sources, meanwhile, said the Mathura-based 1 ‘Strike’ Corps units too will be part of the exercise that will be carried out around the Suratgarh and Mahajan Ranges areas.

“The exercise will be based on the Integrated Theatre Battle Concept and will be one of the largest manoeuvres conducted so far,” Dahiya said.

“Joint synergy will be enhanced by the active participation of the Indian Air Force (IAF), with the air assets of the army and the air force being employed in an integrated manner,” he added.

Battlefield transparency and operational plans based on real-time situational awareness will be enhanced using intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) inputs from unmanned aerial vehicles, radars and satellites, Jodhpur-based defence spokesperson Col. S.D. Goswami said.

“The exercise will start with the mobilisation and build-up of units in the months of February and March. This will be followed by training at unit and formation level and finally culminate in large-scale manoeuvres,” he added.

A wide array of tanks, infantry combat vehicles, artillery guns, helicopters, fighter jets, UAVs, air defence weapons and radars will be fielded in the exercise.

The exercise will enable the army to validate its war fighting concepts while working towards a capability-based approach relying on a series of transformational initiatives, concepts, organisational structures and absorption of new age technology.