Army chief General Dalbir Singh reviews training exercise 'Drad Sankalp'

JAIPUR: Army Chief General Dalbir Singh reviewed the final validation phase of training exercise 'Drad Sankalp', which is being conducted by the Southern Command in a simulated contemporary battlefield environment in deserts of Rajasthan.

"The Army Chief visited the exercise area yesterday and interacted with the participants. He witnessed the conduct of critical manoeuvres in deserts," a defence statement said today.

Singh was briefed by Southern Army Command Lt Gen Ashok Singh on the operational setting, plans and objectives of the exercise.

He reviewed integrated operational manoeuvres of the formations, the aspect of synergy between Army and Air Force in launching coordinated air-land battle and the ability to orchestrate battle in network centric environment.

Addressing Commanders, he reiterated the importance of technology and innovation in the fast changing battle scenario, high standards of physical fitness, mental alertness and maintenance of high state of readiness of the equipment to take to field at short notice.

During the exercise, combined arms of infantry and mechanised forces practise swift manoeuvres in coordination with air-borne troops.

Networked radars, UAVs and aerial surveillance platforms ensured continuous flow of information resulting in battlefield transparency which enabled Commanders to assess and modify their operational plans to meet the emerging challenges.

Participation included entire spectrum of ground forces to include fighting arms, combat support arms duly supported by services and logistics, force multipliers like Army Aviation, Special Forces and Electronic Warfare System in conjunction with Indian Air Force.

"Focus of the exercise has been on validation of operational preparedness of formations and units to the evolving doctrine of Indian Army to launch swift offensive in the desert terrain in a network centric environment in close coordination with long range Artillery and Air Force," defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha said in the statement.