Joint drill between India, Oz armies to start today
The armies of India and Australia are set to conduct joint training exercise “Austra Hind 22” at the Mahajan field firing ranges in Rajasthan from November 28 to December 11, the army said in a statement on Sunday.
The statement said that the drills are aimed at deepening interoperability and also strengthening the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
“This is the first exercise in the series of Austra Hind (drills) with participation of all arms and services contingent from both armies,” an army spokesperson said on the eve of the drills. The drills coincide with an ongoing bilateral army exercise, “Yudh Abhyas”, between the Indian and US armies in Uttarakhand, which also aims to boost interoperability.
The aim of “Austra Hind 22” is to build positive military relations, imbibe each other’s best practices, and promote the ability to operate together while undertaking operations in the semi-desert terrain under a UN peace enforcement mandate, said the spokesperson.
“This joint exercise will enable the two armies to share best practices in tactics, techniques and procedures for conducting tactical operations at company and platoon level for neutralising hostile threats. Training on new generation equipment and specialist weapons is also planned.” Casualty management, casualty evacuation and joint logistics planning also fall under the ambit of the drills.
The Australian contingent includes soldiers from the 13th Brigade of the 2nd Division, while the Indian contingent includes troops from the Dogra Regiment, according to the statement.
“During the exercise, participants will engage in a variety of tasks ranging from joint planning, joint tactical drills, sharing basics of special arms skills and raiding a hostile target. The joint exercise, besides promoting understanding and interoperability between the two armies, will further help in strengthening ties between India and Australia,” the spokesperson added.
Apart from army exercises, India and Australia regularly conduct joint air force and naval drills too. The two countries recently took part in the multi-nation Malabar exercise alongside the navies of the US and Japan.
The trade relationship between the two countries also received a boost last week Australia’s Parliament ratified an interim trade deal with India, which is expected to boost exports of Indian products ranging from textiles to pharmaceuticals, and gems to jewellery.
The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), signed by the two countries in April, was passed by Australia’s House of Representatives on Monday and the Senate cleared it on Tuesday.
ECTA is set to enter into force 30 days after it is ratified by India’s Parliament.