The Indian Army has launched a massive summer exercise in the Rajasthan desert involving over 50,000 troops and several hundred artillery guns and infantry combat vehicles. The games will take place to strengthen the army’s efforts to shore up it’s battle worthiness on the western front with Pakistan.
The exercise, code-named ‘Shoorveer’, is being conducted by the Jaipur-based South Western Command and will end in the first week of May 2012. Troops of the South Western ‘Sapta Shakti’ Command have now built up in the deserts of Rajasthan to carry out an annual summer exercise.
The formations are currently practising their battle drills in the designated training areas.
The collective training of thousands of troops started with honing up of basic battle procedures and tactical drills at tactical level.
A large number of field firings are being carried out to check the accuracy and lethality of the weapon systems. Apart from field firings, a large number of innovations and modifications are also carried out by units and formations to enhance combat power.
The troops will build the momentum of training gradually, with increased combat tempo to set the stage for a major joint army-air force exercise in the later part of the exercise.
The exercise ‘Shoorveer’ is scheduled to culminate when Sapta Shakti Command along with Indian Air Force will carry out swift battle manoeuvres and joint operations. Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Indian Army chief Gen. V. K. Singh are expected to witness the exercise in the first week of May.
