National   

Maiden military exercise in Russia from today

NEW DELHI: India will hold joint military exercises with Russia from Tuesday.

This will be the first time that Indian troops, accompanied by an Indian Air Force contingent, will hold exercises in Russia. Codenamed “Indra-07”, the exercises are a follow-up of the first-ever airborne exercise “Indra-05” held here.

As was the case two years ago, the 10-day exercise in Pskov region will have counter-terrorism as the dominant theme. Special airborne forces of both countries will jointly plan and conduct air and ground manoeuvres to neutralise a concentration of international terrorists in a third country, under a “United Nations mandate.”

The exercises will be conducted by the elite Russian 76 airborne division and involve over 400 special forces troops from both countries. They will use state-of-the-art battle equipment, a large number of fixed and rotary wing aircraft as well as unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance that will precede the assault.

The exercises will be conducted in three phases, culminating in a realistic simulated operational exercise involving surveillance, acquiring and assessing intelligence; joint planning; multi-directional mass airborne insertion and tactical para-drop; regrouping into joint teams. These will followed by a series of counter-terrorist operations. The manoeuvres will involve cross-country movement over a distance of 100 km after the para-drop, assault crossing of a river obstacle; destruction of terrorist hideouts and extrication from the target area into neutral territory.

The Russian airborne forces are one of the oldest and most combat hardened. They have been the frontrunners in evolving and practicing the theory of “operational art” in this area.

The Indian airborne forces are expected to showcase their skills as well as learn from the operational concepts and tactical methodologies of their Russian counterparts.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Vital issues not discussed, says Pranab
Tumult marks end of monsoon session of Parliament
Emigration Act to be amended
‘Ramar Sethu’ not man made: Centre
AIADMK also demands JPC
Karat calls for nation-wide campaign
Vaghela, Vilasrao comments draw Vidharbha farmers’ ire
CRPF vehicle attacked
Maiden military exercise in Russia from today
A centre that listens, and saves lives
I am Sitaram myself: Yechury
INSAT-4CR antennas successfully deployed
2 SRP jawans shot dead, colleague held
Their internal matter, says Pranab
Uma Khurana gets bail
Irate women ransack belt-shops, seize liquor
Assam flood situation critical
“Centre not serious about groundwater conservation”
‘Desecration’ sparks tension
Virk shifted to PGI

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu