Posted on 10/11/2005 10:44:19 PM PDT by Gengis Khan
Indian, Russian troops to hold military exercise
www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-10 22:32:48
NEW DELHI, Oct. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- India and Russia Monday began preparing for a joint military exercise to counter terrorists, Indo-Asian News Service reported Monday.
The week-long exercise, codenamed Indra 2005, is the largest such air and land maneuvers by the armed forces of the two countries and will feature the special forces of the two sides and comes close on the heels of a massive Russia-China war game.
This will be the first time the militaries of India and Russia will train jointly to counter terrorists.
Three Russian Il-76 transport aircraft carrying some 150 paratroopers and special machinery and equipment flew into the TajMahal city of Agra Monday, where the two sides will prepare for the exercise to be held in the Thar desert in Rajasthan state bordering Pakistan.
"The Russian paratroopers will exchange their concepts and skills with India's airborne forces in para-trooping, endurance, weapon skills and in combating terrorism," said an Indian Army spokesman.
Col. Gen. Alexander Kolmakov, the commander of Russia's airborne troops, who is in India, was quoted as saying that the main aim of the training was to develop cooperation to deal with a terrorist attack and the exercise was not against third countries.
Officials from India's defense ministry said the exercise would aim to boost "inter-operability" between the land forces of the two sides for possible future operations during international peacekeeping missions.
The exercise will also include a naval element that will see five warships from Russia's Pacific Fleet training with Indian vessels in the Bay of Bengal. The warships will train to fire at sea and aerial targets.
During the simulated war games in Rajasthan, Russian and Indian paratroopers will land in an area occupied by "illegal armed groups" and neutralize "terrorist training bases" and free "hostages" held at a camp.
The training will include the para-dropping of armored vehicles, anti-tank guided missiles and artillery.
The Russian paratroopers will be equipped with the latest arms in a bid to showcase the equipment for the Indian Army's top brass.Russian forces will field specialized anti-terror weapons like sniper guns, anti-material rifles and long distance specialized rockets.
This year, the Indian Army has conducted joint training with the US Army, both in India and the US.
The joint training will be witnessed by Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Lavrov and Gen. J.J. Singh, the Indian Army chief, besides a large contingent of senior officers and experts from both countries.
India and Russia held large-scale naval exercises in the Arabian Sea in 2003 after the US-led intervention in Afghanistan.
Despite the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia remains one ofIndia's closest military allies and accounts for more than 70 percent of India's military arsenal. Enditem
10.10.2005, 06.53
NEW DELHI, October 10 (Itar-Tass) -- Three Russian Il-76 military planes with paratroopers from Pskov, machinery and equipment aboard will land at the airfield in the Indian city of Agra on Monday.
Paratroops Commander Alexander Kolmakov, who has arrived in India, told Itar-Tass that the Indra-2005 manoeuvres that would begin on Monday would be tactical anti-terrorist exercises.
The main aim is to master cooperation to deal with a terrorist attack against a country, the general said, noting that the exercises were not aimed against third countries.
Armed forces, together with special units, are often used by some countries in anti-terrorist operations at present, he noted.
A unit of Russian Paratroop Division 76 and servicemen for Indian Paratroop Brigade 50 and warships of both countries will participate in the manoeuvres.
The exercises will take place on the Mahajan training ground in the western Indian state of Rajasthan and the Bay of Bengal.
Russian and Indian paratroopers will land at an area "occupied by illegal armed groups".
About 130 Russian paratroopers will participate in the operation.
According to the scenario, there are "terrorists' training bases" in the area and "hostages are held" at one of them.
Paratroopers are to seize "the base" and free "the hostages". It must be "a point-aimed strike" by mobile units against the base, the commander said.
The three Russian Il-76 planes and Indian Air Force aircraft will carry the paratroopers to the area of landing.
One of the Russian units will use three combat vehicles in the operation. No use of heavy weaponry (tanks, infantry combat machines or artillery systems) is planned for the exercises.
The Russian paratroopers will have latest arms and equipment. It is not ruled out, it will arouse Indian military specialists' interest.
During the active sea phase, the ships will train to manoeuvre and fire at sea and air targets.
The exercises will be concluded with an analysis of joint actions.
It will be the first anti-terrorist exercises of such a scope in the Russian-Indian military cooperation practice.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=2500908&PageNum=0
INDRA 2005: From Sea to the Desert
URL: http://www.india-defence.com/reports/515
Date: 6/10/2005
Author: Vijay Sakhuja
On September 20, 2005, a squadron of five warships and one nuclear submarine of the Russian Pacific Fleet sailed for the Indian Ocean.
The squadron is programmed to carry out joint exercises code named INDRA 2005 from October 7 to 19 with the Indian naval fleet. The squadron includes the flagship missile cruiser Varyag, anti-submarine ships Admiral Tributs and Admiral Panteleyev, ocean tanker Pechenega and a tugboat Kalar. A nuclear submarine of Project 09710 “Samara” class, pennant number K-295 from Kamchatka will later join the squadron at sea.
Vice Admiral Sergei Abramenko, Deputy Commander Pacific Fleet who is leading the forces has stated that exercises with the Indian navy will involve firing antisubmarine missiles "Volcano", missile- torpedoes "Socket", anti-aircraft missiles "Fort", "Wasp-M" and the "Dagger." Knowledgeable sources believe the nuclear submarine will demonstrate its capability. The submarine has an extremely low-noise power plant and its hull is made of low-magnetic steel. Currently two submarines of this class are under construction in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Apparently, one of these submarines named “Nerpa” (Seal) is already in the water and its nuclear reactor has been started while the second is 70 percent ready. These could be offered to the Indian Navy.
The exercises would also include operations relating to maintaining maritime order at sea (counter piracy, counter terrorism, anti gun running and drug smuggling). Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov is expected to be personally present to observe the joint naval exercises. On completion of the exercises, these ships will call at ports in Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.
The air-ground component of INDRA 2005 will be held in the desert areas of Rajasthan. This part of the exercise is aimed at counter terrorism and will involve a company each from Russia's 76th Airborne Division and the Indian 50th Airborne Brigade. Col-General Alexander Kolmakov, Commander Russian Air Force, has stated that the anti-terrorist exercises are expected to simulate an operation in which troops from both the Airborne Divisions would land from the air and destroy a ''token base of terrorists'' on land.
The naval exercises with the Indian Navy are aimed to strengthen cooperation, trust and mutual understanding between two naval powers and contribute to regional stability. At the same time, Russia has watched with great interest the developments in Afghanistan (2001-02) and Iraq (2003) where several navies from UK, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, the UAE, Australia and Japan participated in the US led war against terrorism. Of particular interest to the Russians were the deployments by the Royal Navy, French naval task group and Japanese logistic vessels. The Russians realize the creeping reach of these forces and believe that it would not be long before these navies begin permanent deployment in the Indian Ocean.
The end of the Cold War resulted in a decline, rather a near total absence of the Russian naval presence in the Indian Ocean. It took almost a decade for the Russian Navy to visit the Indian Ocean in 2001. A small but a powerful contingent of naval ships comprising anti-submarine ships Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Pantellev, escorted by the tanker Vladimir Kilechitsky paid a visit to Mumbai that year.
In April 2003, nine warships of the Russian Federation navy set sail from Sevastopol in the Black Sea and Pacific naval bases for the Indian Ocean. The ships did not enter the Persian Gulf setting aside speculation that Moscow may be attempting to pressurize the US-led coalition attack on Iraq. The Russian naval detachments engaged in a number of exercises with the Indian Navy. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov had made the proposal for joint naval exercises in 2002 and New Delhi had agreed to the offer.
The current deployment further reinforces the commonality of Russian and India interests in the Indian Ocean. INDRA 2005 also provides an opportunity for both militaries, particularly the navy, to test out interoperability, notwithstanding the fact that there is a strong commonality in equipment exploitation doctrines. The exercises will also showcase Russian military hardware and will provide an opportunity to the Indian Navy to further assess the efficacy of weapons such as antisubmarine missiles, missile-torpedoes and modern anti-aircraft missiles as also the Project 09710 “Samara” class submarine.
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