Andaman And Nicobar: Indian Army Paratroopers Practise Capturing Island With Air Force And Navy

The Indian Army's Shatrujeet Brigade based in Agra recently took part in a large-scale exercise with the Andaman and Nicobar Command's tri-services command to practice their rapid reaction capabilities on the islands.

The Indian Air Force and Navy partnered with the Army to test jointness and interoperability among Special Forces of the three services.

The exercise involved responding to realistic tactical settings and contingencies.

The paratroopers flew from Agra and landed with precision on a distant island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago using IAF's C130 J Super Hercules plane on Wednesday.

The exercise featured validation of tactics and specialised equipments, combat jumps and ground manoeuvers.

According to sources, airborne insertion of Special Forces in island territories is crucial in managing contingencies in India's island chains and supporting neighboring nations.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are strategically important to India due to their location near the Indo-Pacific and major SLOCs in the Bay of Bengal.

The source said, "the joint operation with the special forces of the IAF and Navy provides cohesiveness of operating in theaterised domains”.

India had earlier established the tri-service Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD) for joint training of special forces from all three services.

Earlier in 2021, as well, the Shatrujeet brigade has conducted an airborne insertion exercise near the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh. Troops were inserted at an altitude of over 14,000 ft to test their rapid response capabilities and combat manoeuvres.

Recently, the Army and IAF conducted joint exercises, including the Vayu Prahar, a multi-domain air-land exercise close to the Line of Actual Control, in the northeast.

The Trishakti Prahar was a joint training exercise conducted by the Army in February near the critical Siliguri Corridor in North Bengal. All branches of the Army, the IAF and CAPF participated in the exercise.