In another step in achieving the historic transformation of the Indian military, the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force will together mount a tri-services theater command-level war game in the Eastern Command from November 10 to 18.
The exercise, ‘Poorvi Prahar’ (eastern thrust), will span for nine days and will take place in the frontier geography extending from the airfields of Assam in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, and Tezpur to the valleys and mountains of Arunachal Pradesh straddling the India-China border.
Arunachal Pradesh presents a challenging topography with several very deep river valleys braided in the north-south direction flanked by high mountains on either side. The main five main river valleys are along the Kameng, Subansiri, Siang, Lohit and Tirap rivers. While Kameng, Subansiri, Siang, and Lohit are snow-fed Himalayan rivers, the Tirap originates in the Patkai hills. The main military challenge lies in linking up forces all along the frontier.
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A source in the military establishment told THE WEE, “‘Poorvi Prahar’ aims to train elements of the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force in executing integrated joint operations in mountainous terrain, thus, enhancing operational readiness and inter-service coordination.”
“It will test the SOPs and drills of the three services to check limitations so as to enhance interoperability in the backdrop of the declared goal of theaterisation and integration so as to promote operational readiness and inter-service coordination.”
In the past couple of years, the Indian military had mounted several war games focused on the about-60-km-long vulnerable ‘Chicken’s Neck’—a narrow strip of land that links the Indian mainland to the Northeastern region—that saw rehearsals by Special Forces commandos test their aerial insertion capability and rapid response with the objective of going behind enemy lines.
“But ‘Poorvi Prahar’ is more about integrating elements of the three services,” the source added.
In a first, the Indian Navy’s P-8I Poseidon long-range patrol and reconnaissance aircraft is also scheduled to participate in the exercise.
What stands out in this exercise is the “use of new cutting-edge equipment, including swarm drones, First Person View (FPV) drones, and loiter munitions”.
Besides the Navy’s P-8I aircraft, the exercise will see participation by “advanced fighter aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, helicopters like Chinook, aviation assets such as the Advance Light Helicopters (Rudra) and the newly inducted M777 Ultra-Light Howitzer artillery systems”.
A significant objective of the war game will be rapidly deploying ultra-light M777 howitzers that can be swiftly inserted by the heavy-lift CH-47 Chinook helicopters in an under-sling to any forward position along the Arunachal frontier.
Additionally, joint control structures will be established to develop a more refined Common Operating Picture, optimizing devices that operate on satellite communications and utilize AI-driven analytics.