India-France joint military exercise ‘Shakti’ begins in Meghalaya
The seventh edition of ‘Exercise Shakti’ between India and France began in Meghalaya on Monday with an aim to enhance the joint military capability of both sides to conduct multi-domain operations in sub-conventional scenario, the Defense Ministry said.
The joint military exercise aims to enhance the level of defense cooperation between the two friendly countries and boost their bilateral relations.
Exercise Shakti, to be held from May 13-26, will enable both sides to share their best practices in tactics, techniques and procedures in conducting joint operations, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Tactical exercises to be conducted during the exercise included responding to a terrorist action capturing a defined area, establishing a joint command post, establishing an intelligence and surveillance centre, securing a helipad or landing site, small team Will involve doing and taking out. It said that apart from special heliborne operations, cordon and search operations, drones and counter-drone systems will be used.
Vyayam Shakti is a biennial training program held alternately in India and France. The previous edition was held in France in November 2021.
The seventh edition of the exercise began on Monday at Umroi, a fully developed and modern foreign training node in Meghalaya.
“The joint exercise will help in developing interoperability, camaraderie and camaraderie between the armed forces personnel of the two countries. It will also enhance the level of defense cooperation, thereby boosting bilateral relations between the two friendly nations,” the statement said. “
The ministry said the inauguration ceremony of the joint exercise was attended by French Ambassador to India Thierry Matthau and Major General Prasanna Sudhakar Joshi, General Officer Commanding 51 Sub Area.
The Indian contingent of 90 personnel is being represented mainly by personnel from other arms and services apart from a battalion of the Rajput Regiment. Observers from the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force are also part of the exercise, the statement said.
“The French contingent of 90 personnel will be represented primarily by personnel from the 13th Foreign Legion Half-Brigade (13th DBLE),” it said.
The statement said Exercise FORCE aims to enhance the joint military capability of both sides to conduct multi-domain operations in the sub-conventional scenario under Chapter VII of the UN mandate.
The joint exercise will focus on operations in semi-urban and hilly areas. It said the objectives to be achieved from the joint training include a “higher degree of physical fitness”, practice and refinement for operations at the tactical level, and sharing of best practices.
