First tri-service drill of India, US towards year-end

NEW DELHI: India and the United States are likely to conduct their first exercise involving their armies, navies and air forces towards the end of the year, two officials said on condition of anonymity. The tri-service exercise was discussed last September during the ‘2+2’ dialogue between the foreign and defence ministers of the two countries.

“The planning conference for the exercise will be held in April followed by a final meet. The scale and scope of it will be discussed during these meetings,” said one of the officials cited above. He said the exercise was likely to be conducted in Bay of Bengal around November. “US has a rich experience in joint operations in actual war conditions. India stands to gain a lot from the US experience,” said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies. RAHUL SINGH