Indo-US joint military drill in Uttarakhand from Sep 16

As part of the ongoing Indo-US defence cooperation, a joint military training exercise "Yudh Abhyas 2018" will be conducted in the foothills of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand's Chaubattia from September 16-29, a spokesman of the Central Command said on Monday.

This will be the 14th edition of the joint military exercise hosted alternately by both the countries.

The two-week exercise will witness participation of about 350 personnel of the US Army and similar strength of Garud Division of the Indian Army, the official said.

The exercise will simulate a scenario where both nations work together in counter insurgency and counter terrorism environment in a mountainous terrain under the UN charter, he told IANS.

The exercise curriculum is progressively planned where the participants are initially made familiar with each other's organisational structure, weapons, equipments, confidence training and tactical drills. Subsequently, the training advances to joint tactical exercises wherein the battle drills of both the armies are coherently unleashed.

The training will culminate with a final validation exercise in which troops of both the countries will jointly carry out an operation against terrorists in a fictitious but realistic setting, the official said.

--IANS

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