Exercise Indra 2017

Exercise Indra 2017, the first ever Tri Services joint exercise between Indian and Russian Armed Forces was held in the Eastern Military District of Russia from 19 to 29 October 2017, conducted as a single service exercise alternately between the two countries nine times. 2017 marks a major milestone as this exercise has been upgraded to involve all the three services of the armed forces. The Exercise was conducted at the 249th Combined Army Range Sergeevisky and in the Sea of Japan near Vladivostok. The Indian contingent comprised of 350 personnel from Army, 80 from Air Force, with two IL-76 aircraft and one Frigate and Corvette each from the Navy, while Russian Federation Armed Forces were represented by approximately 1000 troops of the 5th Army, Marines and ships of Pacific Fleet and aircraft from Eastern Military District.

Addressing the Indian Contingent Lt Gen Satish Dua reminded them of the importance of the exercise that provided “an opportunity to the armed forces of both countries to train in counter terrorism operations in a multinational scenario in a joint tri service environment.” The scope of the exercise included professional interactions, establishment of joint command and control structures between the Indian and Russian forces and elimination of terrorist threat in a multinational environment under the UN mandate. “Exercise Indra 2017 will strengthen mutual confidence, interoperability and enable sharing of best practices between both the armed forces.”