Indo-US joint military exercise Yudh Abhyas 2016 begins

The joint military training exercise of the Indian and US Armies was held at Chaubattia in Uttarakhand on 15th of Sept. with the unfurling of the national flags of the two countries to the strains of "Jana Gana Mana" and "The Star Spangled Banner". Indian and US soldiers stood side by side and gave a ceremonial salute to the two of their senior most officers.


 

It is the 12th edition of the joint military exercise hosted alternately by the two countries. The two week (from September 15 to 27) exercise will witness participation of about 225 personnel of Congo Brigade of the Indian Army and similar strength of the US Army.

The US contingent was represented by a company of 5th Infantry Battalion, 20 Infantry Regiment, 2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, and 7 Infantry Division of the US army, while the Indian side was represented by an Infantry Battalion. The Indian brigade commander welcomed the US soldiers and in his inaugural remarks highlighted the common shared beliefs of democracy, freedom, equality and justice that are precious to both the nations.

Army personnels who are taking part in the two week-long joint training exercise will see them hone their tactical and technical skills in countering insurgency and terrorism in a UN peace keeping scenario involving a combined deployment at a brigade level.

 

State of the art equipment for surveillance and tracking, specialist weapons for close quarter battle with terrorists, explosive and lED detectors, as well as the latest communication equipment are being fielded by both sides.
Both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats that may be encountered in UN peace keeping operations. Experts from both sides will also hold discussions to share each other's experiences in varied topics for mutual benefit.

Key Facts of Yudh-Abhyas

• Yudh Abhyas 2016 is one of the longest running joint military training and a major ongoing bilateral defence cooperation endeavours between India and the US.

• The purpose of the exercise is to stimulate a scenario where both nations were working together to counter insurgency and counter terrorism (CICT) in mountainous terrain under UN charter. 

• The curriculum of exercise has been progressively planned where the participants are initially made to get familiar with each other’s organisational structure, equipment, weapons and tactical drills. 

• Subsequently, the training advances to joint tactical exercises of both the armies will be coherently unleashed especially in the battle drills. 

• The training will culminate with a final validation exercise in which troops of both countries will jointly carry out an operation against terrorists in a fictitious but realistic setting.

To see images of YudhAbhyas 2016 Follow this Link : Yudh-Abhyas-Photo-Gallery