Indian Army headed for first joint exercise in UK

In a first for the Indian Army, its soldiers are heading for England to participate in a joint training exercise later this month.

In a first for the Indian Army, its soldiers are heading for England to participate in a joint training exercise later this month. The joint exercise on British soil will involve the Mechanized Infantry troops which will receive training at the British Army8217;s prestigious Land Warfare Centre LWC in Warminister.

Officials said the Indian Army company 8212; comprising more than 100 troops and officers 8212; will remain in the UK for over a month and take part in two small exercises after the initial training period. The deployment is likely to begin from August 29.

LWC is one of the most advanced land warfare training establishments and relies heavily on simulators to train troops. The centre draws from the experience gained by British armored formations during the Afghan war to simulate a realistic battlefield. It is the British Army8217;s main combined arms training centre.

8220;The training is starting early next month and will last close to five weeks. After an initial training period, two small exercises have been planned out in the UK,8221; a senior officer said, adding that Indian Armored Vehicles would not be sent for the war game.

The training exercise comes a year after the UK troops participated in the joint anti terror exercise with India in September last year. The 25-day war game in the Ladakh region, aimed at training UK troops for Afghanistan drew protests from Pakistan, which raised objections to an exercise on 8216;disputed territory8217;.

The first ever exercise between elite soldiers of the Indian and British Forces 8212; called Himalayan Warrior 8212; was conducted at altitudes of over 3,500 feet and included simulated attacks on terrorist camps and guerilla strikes.

While the Army has started conducting exercises with the UK forces recently, the two countries have been engaged in Navy and Air Force exercises for the past few years. The latest round of maritime engagements took place in April and featured frontline warships of the Royal Navy including the Illustrious Aircraft Carrier and the HMS Trafalgar nuclear submarine. Earlier in July 2007, IAF8217;s latest SU 30 MKI fighters took part in the Indo-UK 8216;Indradhanush8217; at the Royal Air Force RAF base at Waddington.