Most Important Military Exercises

MILITARY EXERCISES

Indian Armed Forces is subdivided into 3 wings namely Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. Today’s article is all about military exercises of the above mentioned 3 branches. So let’s get started.

Defence exercise/ military exercise/ war games refers to the ‘technique of using military resources in training or performing drills of military operations; testing the quickness and real time capabilities of warfare; and adopting strategies without undergoing actual combat. The military exercise is a measure to test the performance of the armed forces without engaging in the battlefield.”  The given definition means that military exercises deal with how you react and what strategies you make to tackle real life problems or real life wars. These exercises aim to know the power of your military abilities.

IMPORTANCE: The importance of Defence exercises are listed below:

• They have become imperative all around the world.
• The exercises train the soldiers how to work in team, how to organize, manage, transmit and use of resources for war or other real life situations.
• Different exercises have different aims.
• Military exercise is a method to showcase the power and might to other countries.
• It improves co- ordination and co- operation among friendly militaries of the world.
• The exercises provide an opportunity to test the precision of weapons and devices.
• It renders training for natural disaster and humanitarian relief.

 

TYPES: Military exercises are divided into 3 basic types: bilateral, multilateral and domestic.

 

INDIAN ARMY EXERCISES: The various military exercises of Indian Army are:

• - China Ex hand in hand- Annual joint training exercise, 7th edition held in October 2018. It was suspended in 2017 because of Doklam Plateau standoff.
• - Nepal Ex Sampriti- Conducted biannually alternatively in India and Nepal.
• - Bangladesh Ex Sampriti- aimed to strengthen and broaden the aspects of interoperability and co-operation between the Indian and Bangladesh Armies.
• - Sri Lanka Ex Mitra Shakti- incepted in 2012 in response to China’s effect to strengthen its influence in the Indian Ocean region and Southeast Asia.
• - USA Ex Yudh Abhyas- Annual combat exercise, started in 2004, 14th edition held in Uttarakhand in 2018
• - Ex Vajra Prahar- Conducted between Special Forces of both countries US and India to deal with operation from counter terrorism
• - Myanmar IMBAX 2017- It is aimed at strengthening closer operation with armies of the neighboring countries.
• - Malaysia Ex HARIMAN SHAKTI- It is a bilateral military training exercise between India and Malaysia in May 2018.
• - Indonesia Ex Garuda Shakti- Annual military exercise, started in 2012, 6th edition held in 2018 in Bandung, Indonesia.
• - Vietnam VINBAX- 2018: First military exercise between the 2 countries to carry out training for peacekeeping operations with UN.
• - Maldives Ex E Kuverian- Annual bilateral military exercises started in 2009. Hosted alternatively in India and Maldives.
• - Russia Ex INDRA- Transformed into tri- services Military exercises in 2017. The 10th edition conducted in 2018 at Babina Military Station, Jhansi.
• - Oman AL NAQAH- A joint military exercise. First conducted in 2015. It is aimed at interoperability and weapons.
• - Japan DHARMA GUARDIAN- First joint military exercise between India and Japan, conducted in 2018 in Mizoram.
• - Thailand Ex MAITREE- It was targeted at evolving drills and procedure involved in counter terrorist operations.
• - UK Ex AJEYS WARRIOR- Biannual military exercise. It started in 2013.
• - Kazakhstan Ex PRABAL DOSTYK- First edition in 2016 and second edition in 2017.
• - Mongolia Ex Nomadic ELEPHANT- Annual bilateral military exercise. It started in 2006. It is designed to strengthen the partnership between the armies of India and Mongolia.
• - Seychelles Ex LAMITIYE- The 8th edition of this biannual military exercise conducted in May 2018 at Mahe Island in Seychelles Archipelago.
• - Singapore Ex BOLD KURUKSHETRA- A bilateral military exercise conducted at the BABINA Field Firing Range (BFFR) in Central India between the Singapore Army and the Indian Army (IA).

INDIAN NAVY: Various Defence Exercises conducted in Indian Navy include:

Sri Lanka SLINEX- It was started in 2005; was primarily held biannually; from 2018 onwards it has been converted into an annual event.

Russia INDRA NAVY- Started in 2004 to build interoperability and share best practices.

Frances VARUNA- It started in 1983 between the Armies of India and France. These exercises were later named as Varuna in 2001.

Oman NASEEMAL- BAHR- It is a bi- annual, bilateral exercise between the 2 Navies. It started in 1993. It literally means ‘sea breeze’.

Vietnam Sahyog- First Indian Vietnam Coast Guard Exercise, held in 2018 in the Bay of Bengal.

Indonesia IND- INDO co RPAT- Indian- Indonesia coordinates patrol (IND- INDO CORPAT), bi- annual exercise. It started in 2002. The 32nd edition was held at Indonesia in October, 2018.

Singapore SIMBEX- It is an annual exercise between the Navies of Singapore and India since 1944. It stands for Singapore India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX).

Myanmar IMCOR- Indo – Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOP) held annually since 2013.

 

INDIAN AIR FORCE: The numerous Military exercises held by Indian Air Force include:

• France Ex GARUDA- An important aspect of the Indo- French bilateral military cooperation which is a cornerstone of the strategic partnership between France and India established in 1998.
• Oman Ex EASTERN BRIDGE-Conducted between the Indian Air Force and RAFQ (royal Air Force of Oman).
• Russia Ex AVIAINDRA- 18- It started in 2014 and it is conducted biannually. The exercise is targeted towards anti- terrorist operations.
• Thailand SIAM BHARAT Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise.
• UAE Ex DESERT EAGLE- A bilateral Air Combat Exercise, provides exposure towards mission planning and execution in a stimulated high threat combat environment.
• UK Ex INDRADHANUSH- It is conducted to enhance mutual practices and understanding between IAF and Royal Air Force.
• USA Ex RED FLAG- It is 2 week annual combat exercise organized by the Indian Air Force. It offers air combat training to military pilots from U.S.A and its allies.

 

MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISE: There are some miscellaneous military exercise which are equally important hence take a note of them:

RIMPAC

MALABAR

MILEX- 18

PEACE MISSION

Samvedna 2018

Ex cobra gold

KAKADU

ARF DIR Ex

Ex KOMODO

 

DOMESTIC MILITARY EXERCISES- Apart from the above listed military exercises there are various domestic/ internal military exercises conducted within Indian Armed Forces to strengthen its power. These include:

GANDIV VIJAY

VIJAY PRAHAR

PASCHIM LEHAR- 18

Vayu Shakti 2019.

 With this the complete detail of Military exercises in Indian armed Forces gets covered. Being a Defence aspirant it’s your task to study them well. Good luck!