South Western Command exercise enters final phase

For the past few weeks, formations of the Sapta Shakti Command have been carrying out an exercise to hone their skills further and to carry out strikes in enemy territory.

Named Vijay Prahar, the exercise involves more than 20,000 troops of the South Western Command and as the exercise enters the final phase, it becomes rigorous and difficult.

The exercise - going on in Mahajan field firing range close to Suratgarh - represents a small section of the overall offensive along the Western front which would be a high tempo joint air-land operation involving hundreds of aircrafts, thousands of tanks and artillery pieces supported by real time intelligence – surveillance – reconnaissance and just in time logistic support.

“The exercise is set on situation based on swift offensive action to exploit the shock effect and manoeuvre capability of our mechanised forces to achieve a decisive victory across our western borders while simultaneously maintaining the defensive balance and territorial integrity which is the prime role of SWC,” informed Brigadier Anil Gautam, Brigadier General Staff - Information Warfare (BGS - IW). As part of the exercise, lot of activities will be carried out over next few days. However certain important aspects will be emphasised upon.

“Firstly is the joint-manship with the Indian Air Force (IAF). In the wake of Exercise Gaganshakti by IAF, this exercise will also emphasise on testing and refining our joint-manship and maximising the impact or effect of the joint operations that will be carried out in cooperation with the Air Force,” Brigadier Gautam informed.

During the exercise, major emphasis will be placed on electronic warfare and real time information about the battle. “Over a period of time we have been developing these capabilities. We have satellite-based surveillance capabilities, drones, photo-recce capabilities, electronic warfare capabilities and radars amongst others.”

Significantly, city’s various commercial establishments have not taken Fire NOC from the municipal corporation.

20k troops 

The exercise involves more than 20,000 troops of the South Western Command and as the exercise enters the final phase, it becomes rigorous and difficult