Indian armed forces have been continuously engaged in exercises with different nations with the aim to share experience and cooperation and exchanging various tactics. It is the topic which can be a point of SSB interview and can be a strong point in group discussions. Here we are having some major points of exercise that took place this year and can be asked in SSBs.
Recently, Indian army and Russian army conducted a military exercise named INDRA. The series of this exercise started in 2003, since then it took place many times reviving the bond between both the forces.
7th India-Russia army exercise commenced in Bikaner on 9th November. As per the sources, 250 troops of Russia from independent motorized brigade arrived in Bikaner on 7th November for the exercise. The Opening ceremony was held at Mahajan field firing ranges in Bikaner.
AIM – The exercise aims at training the soldiers to counter any current and future the terrorist threat under UN mandate. The exercise focused on extending and bolstering the cooperation and interoperability between both the armies.
Various missions were a part of the exercise like search and rescue, joint planning, cordon and search, tactical drills, special arms drills, etc. Yoga session was also a part of the exercise which included ‘Anulom-Vilom’, Vajrasana’, ‘Suryasana’ etc.
Well, Russia has been close to India from a long time. Especially India and Russia share a wide range of defense deals most recent being the S-400 missile system leasing of second submarine and Sukhoi spare part talks. This exercise made a strong hold on the ties between both the nations.
Apart from this, some other exercise have taken place this year, which SSB apartments are required to be aware of.
Malabar – The six day exercise took place at the Bay of Bengal, between US, India and Japan. The exercise focused on anti- submarines and surface warfare, air defense, search and rescue tactics. The exercise was started in 1992. Then, the exercise was just between India and US. Japan took a guest place and become a permanent member. This year, even after protest from China over Japan’s including. India’s destroyers, frigates, submarines and support ships and performed well in the exercise.
Indradhanush – This exercise was joint air and ground exercise between Indian air force and Royal air force. The exercise saw India’s Sukhoi and RAF’s euro fighter typhoon in Indradhanush IV in United Kingdom. C-17 Globemaster III and C-130J Hercules was for the support of Indian Sukhoi. And the Indian air force’s performance was remarkable in the exercise.
Hand in Hand – Conducted in October, the exercise held between India and China at the Kunming Military Academy, Yunnan, China, which includes 175 soldiers from Indian army and 144 from the Chinese army. The exercise is the 5th of the series, which was started in 2007. The exercise emphasized on counter terrorism and anti-insurgency and sharing experience, while disaster relief and humanitarian assistance were also a part of discussion between both the armies.
Yudh Abhyas – It is an Indo-US combined military exercise that took place at Joint Base Lewis McChord, USA in September. It was the 11th exercise of this series, which started in 2004. The Indian army, which is experienced in working in the Himalaya and constitute a major part in the UN peacekeeping force that joined US army for various training drills. The exercises involved 150 soldiers of the Indian army, 150 US soldiers and 20 national security guards. The exercise includes expert exchange, professional development workshop emphasizing on conventional and unconventional security threats, amphibious operations and disaster relief for tackling Nepal like situations.
These exercises are crucial from the point of SSB and competitive exams like CDS NDA and AFCAT. Some questions related to the exercise that can be asked could be: how Hand in Hand can improve Indo-China relations in the conflicting scenario, why china is having problems from Japan’s partnership in Malabar exercise and some directly asked questions could be asked about name of the exercise and the forces involved in the exercises etc. similar topics can be faced in GD also. So be prepared and leave your views.
