Army carries out Special Heliborne exercise in Rajasthan deserts

In a significant show of strength and joint manship, troops of strike formation of the Indian Army carried out a two days long Special Heliborne exercise in the deserts of Rajasthan.

A Special Heliborne Operation provides necessary momentum to surprise the enemy and multiply the chances of success of overall plan at higher level.

These types of operations need surgical precision for execution by highly trained troops with robust mental and physical capabilities. The exercise was aimed at fine tuning operational and logistics aspects of heliborne operations.

A large force comprising of elements of diverse elements of combat and combat support arms were successfully integrated and inducted, deep behind the enemy lines by medium lift helicopters of the Indian Air Force to achieve simultaneity in effort. Attack and Armed helicopters were also employed in close support of the heliborne column. Long range weapon systems available with Army were also used to deliver large amount of TNT and steel in support of the heliborne force. Strike aircrafts of the Indian Air Force provided critical fire support and air protection to the column.

The exercise conducted in battle like condition was reviewed by large number of senior officers of Army and Air Force.

The exercise also showcased a high degree of synergy between the Indian Army and Air Force. Various Electronic Counter Measures were fielded making use of latest electronic communication equipment. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were employed to gain real time information of enemy activities which was shared with various command and control centers for planning and execution of coordinated operations.

The exercise was unique in scope and scale and provided ground inputs for refinement of operational procedures.