Exercise Sudarshan Shakti: Army tests new weapons

The Indian Army is conducting a massive military exercise in Rajasthan involving troops, tanks, artillery guns and fighter aircraft. Called Exercise Sudarshan Shakti, it is conducted jointly by the Southern Command, which is headquartered in the city, and the Ahmedabad-based South Western Air Command (SWAC) in Barmer-Jaisalmer sector. The exercise is led by the 21 Corps.

Addressing the media yesterday at a video-enabled press conference from the middle of the action, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Lt Gen Sanjeev Langer said the exercise was based on the Integrated Theatre Concept where various defence wings and military elements have to participate in a single cohesive format during war.u00a0

"The army wants to transform itself into a modern,u00a0lean and agile fighting forceu00a0by mastering modern-dayu00a0

warfare techniques, particularly 'Air Land Battle' scenarios," he said.u00a0The exercise will culminate in the middle of the month, and will see a visit by President Pratibha Patil on December 5.u00a0

Lt Gen Langer said that Network Centric Warfare (NCW), which involves real-time data-sharing with various battle units and defence wings, is being practised in the exercise.u00a0"Data gathered from UAVs, radars and intelligence is quickly and digitally shared with fighting groups on the ground, air and sea," he said.u00a0

The army is also involving the Army Aviation Corps and medium lift transport helicopters for logistical transport operations.u00a0Southern Command General Officer in Command (GO-in-C) Lt Gen A K Singh said the air force was an indispensable element in today's warfare and which the troops need to practice with.u00a0

"We will continuously and systematically review each phase of the exercise and discuss corrective measures when the exercise culminates," Singh said.

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