Sriganganagar, October 7
In a bid to hone combat skills in deserts, the Southern Command of the Army is all set to launch a massive joint exercise with the IAF and the Indian Navy near here. The exercise, that has been named “Sudarshan Shakti”, will begin in November to test inter-services operability and will be reconfigured to suit constantly changing operational requirements.

According to SD Goswami, spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence, a unique feature of this exercise will be the collaboration between the Southern Army Command and its counterparts in the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.

This follows the exercise “Vijaya Bhava” that was recently held in the deserts of the Malwa region in Rajasthan. The Defence minister, the Army Chief and other top brass of the Army, Navy and IAF took stock of the exercise.

Troops of the Southern Command have started arriving in the desert for their annual training exercises. This training will culminate in a major exercise in November-December to validate the operational preparedness of the Southern Army in a Tri-Service environment.

The exercise will be based on the integrated theatre battle concept under the Southern Army Commander Lt Gen AK Singh, with 21 Corps in the lead, supported by all other relevant elements of Southern Army. The exercise will commence with a service of small team actions, subsequently moving up in the command chain.