India is preparing to conduct a massive military exercise on its border with Pakistan with intensive armoured, artillery and infantry manoeuvres to practise swift, high-intensity attacks into enemy territory.
The combat exercise, the largest such endeavour in recent times, will be held in Rajasthan in October-November. It will be centred around the 21 Corps, one of the three principle “strike corps” of the Army, but will include almost the entire Southern Army Command, the Times of India reported Tuesday.
“The exercise, which will peak towards end-November, will also include a major airdrop of paratroopers behind (simulated) enemy lines. Such a large exercise is usually held once in four years to validate and fine-tune war-fighting strategies,” INP quoted a source as saying. With armoured and infantry formations from Jhansi to Hyderabad already mobilising for the exercise, Pakistan “is being informed” of the impending manoeuvres as per the “advance notice” military protocol between the two countries, said sources.