Armed Forces conduct multi-domain exercise in strategic Andaman and Nicobar Islands

As per the Army, the paratroopers took off from Agra and landed with surgical precision on a remote island of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from C130 J Super Hercules aircraft of the IAF during the early hours of Wednesday.

The exercise also saw validation and employment of specialised equipment, combat free fall jumps and ground-based manoeuvres.

As per defence sources, the airborne insertion of Special Forces in island territories is a vital skill required to ensure management of contingencies in the island chains of territorial India, and to support neighbouring nations as well.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands are of high strategic value to India, thanks to their proximity to the Indo-Pacific as well as to major sea lines of communication (SLOC) in the Bay of Bengal.

“Moreover, the joint operation with the special forces of the IAF and Navy provides cohesiveness of operating in theaterised domains,” a defence source said.

The Indian military has already set up the tri service Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) in which the special forces of the three services train together.

In 2021, the Shatrujeet brigade had conducted an airborne insertion of troops close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh at an altitude of over 14,000 ft to validate its rapid response capabilities as part of an airborne exercise and combat manoeuvres.

The three services have been carrying out several joint exercises in the recent past. Last month, the Army and the IAF jointly carried out a multi-domain air-land exercise called Vayu Prahar close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the northeast.

In February, the Army had conducted the Trishakti Prahar — a joint training exercise — close to the strategic Siliguri Corridor in North Bengal. All arms and services of the Army, the IAF and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were involved in the exercise.