India, Australia to begin joint military exercise at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: The bilateral military training exercise between the contingents of the Indian Army and the Australian Army is scheduled to take place from Monday at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges Rajasthan.

A special brigade of the Australian Army has arrived in India to take part in the military exercise. This is the first exercise in the series of AUSTRA HIND with the participation of all arms and services contingent from both armies. The joint military exercise by the Indian and Australian armed forces will start from November 28 and it will last up to December 11, a defence ministry official informed this on Sunday.

The Ministry of Defence said that the Australian Army contingent comprising soldiers from the 13th Brigade of the 2nd Division has arrived at the exercise location. The Indian Army is represented by troops from the DOGRA Regiment. Exercise "AUSTRA HIND" will be a yearly event that will be conducted alternatively in India and Australia.

"The aim of the exercise is to build positive military relations, imbibe each other's best practices and promote the ability to operate together while undertaking multi-domain operations in semi deserts terrain under a UN peace enforcement mandate. This joint exercise will enable the two armies to share best practices in tactics, techniques and procedures for conducting tactical operations at the Company and Platoon level for neutralising hostile threats," the defence ministry official added.

Training on new generation equipment and specialist weapons, including snipers, surveillance and communication equipment to achieve a high degree of situational awareness apart from casualty management, casualty evacuation and planning logistics at Battalion, Company level are also planned, the official added. According to the ministry of defence, 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. IANS

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