India and the United States on Tuesday commenced at Umroi in Meghalaya a joint military exercise ”VAJRA PRAHAR’ aimed at sharing best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics.
The three-week exercise is being conducted by the Indian Army and US Army Special Forces.
The first edition of the exercise was conducted in 2010 in India and the 13th edition of the Indo-US Joint Special Forces exercise was conducted at the Special Forces Training School (SFTS), Bakloh (HP).
During the course of the next three weeks, the two sides will jointly plan and rehearse a series of Special Operations, Counter Terrorist Operations, Airborne operations in simulated conventional and unconventional scenarios in mountainous terrain, the Ministry of Defence said.
Key highlights include combat free fall insertion of troops from stand-off distances, water borne insertion of troops, precision engagement of targets at long ranges, combat air controlling of fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft besides airborne insertion and sustenance of troops.
VAJRA PRAHAR has evolved as a mechanism to exchange ideas and share best practices between the Special Forces of both the nations. It is also a platform to enhance interoperability and strengthen defence cooperation between the armies of India and the United States.