In a six-day joint wargame, the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force displayed its muscle power in the exercise called Vijayee Bhava (Be Victorious) in Suratgarh, Rajasthan, near the Pakistani border. Over 20,000 troops participated in the exercise which saw the latest weaponry and armoured vehicles in the Thar desert.

The Indian Army, the world’s fourth largest fighting force, has reportedly conducted 10 major military exercises along Pakistan’s border in the past six years.

The Ministry of Defence said on the eve of the exercise that this was the first amongst a series of Western Command routine annual summer exercises underway in the South Western Sector. The manoeuvres were conducted in North Rajasthan to test the operational and transformational effectiveness of the Ambala-based Kharga Corps as also validate new concepts which have emerged during the transformation studies undertaken by the Army. The pivot corps manoeuvres are scheduled to take place later this month. The Command HQ synergises the operations of the Pivot and Strike Corps.

This exercise envisaged sustained massed mechanised manoeuvres in a simulated environment by composite combat entities, supported by air and complemented by a wide array of weapon systems and enabling combat logistics.

The Indian Army, which is working towards a ‘capability based approach’, has embarked on a series of transformational initiatives spanning concepts, organisational structures and absorption of new age technologies, particularly in the fields of precision munitions, advance surveillance systems, space and network-centricity. These were fielded and trial evaluated by nominated test bed formations and units participating in the exercise. The thrust of the transformational initiative is for the Army to emerge as a modern, lean, agile and enabled force.