Armed Forces undertakes largest joint military training exercise 'Kavach'

New Delhi, Jan 25: In a major development, the Indian Armed Forces conducted a large-scale joint military training exercise ' Kavach ' along with 'Amphex-21' in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, said the Ministry of Defence in a statement on Monday.

 

The Kavach exercise was conducted under the aegis of Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) with the participation of Eastern Naval Command (ENC) and Army Southern Command (SC) involving assets of Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

 

Commander-in-Chief Andaman and Nicobar Command witnessed the Kavach exercise area in the Southern Group of Islands to oversee the exercise and commended all Ranks for the high level of operational preparedness.

 

The Kavach involved participation and deployment of all forces of ANC, elements of Amphibious Brigade of Army’s Southern Command along with corvettes, submarine and amphibious landing ships of Navy’s Eastern Fleet and Marine Commandos. Jaguar Maritime Strike and transport aircraft from Indian Air Force and assets of Coast Guard also participated.

 

 

The Kavach commenced with maritime strikes by Jaguar aircraft, Para Commandos, and Marine Commandos carrying out Combat Free Fall at Car Nicobar with an aim to validate air dominance and maritime strike capability within the area of interest in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Prior to amphibious landing operations, troops of the Army, Navy, and Air Force were mobilized and transported by sea and air in close coordination with all agencies.

 

As part of shaping the battlefield, MARCOS along with their combat loads and Air Droppable Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (ADR) were dropped over the Andaman Sea, enabling the Marine Commandos to reach the target with stealth and speed. MI-17 V5 Armed Helicopters undertook precision targeting against designated enemy assets at sea and on land.

 

"The training exercise culminated with the beach landing operations by elements of Amphibious Brigade of Southern Command from INS Jalashwa, Airavat, Guldar, and LCU MK-4 class of ships with 600 troops along with tanks, troop carrier vehicles, and other heavy weapons.

 

The exercise also validated joint capabilities of intelligence gathering from space, air, land and sea-based assets, its synthesis, analysis, and near real-time sharing to achieve battle field transparency for quick decision making. The joint force executed multi-domain, high-intensity offensive and defensive manoeuvres in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. The tri-services exercise fine-tuned joint war fighting capabilities and Standard Operating Procedures towards enhancing operational synergy.