A six-day joint Indian Army-IAF exercise Vijayee Bhava (“Be Victorious”) began today in the desert sectors of Western India, bordering Pakistan. The conventional exercise, centred around the Indian Army’s 2 Corps, draws elements from both services, and involves simulations of a rapid armoured offensive into enemy territory to hold ground. It is not known if the indigenous Arjun tank, part of the 75th Armoured Regiment, is also part of the exercise.
I will be travelling to the Suratgarh sector on May 12 to report on the exercise. Lots of photos and updates. The last IAF-Army exercise I covered in the desert sectors was Desert Strike in November 2005.
Photo ©Shiv Aroor / Exercise Desert Strike 2005
india should need always on top of combat preparedness for all three services and it must be conventional , network centric and covert operation
awesome… enjoy the show n gets loads of pics 🙂
Shiv, Please tell how many hours II Corps will take to reach upto the border after it recives the order to launch an attack as per Cold Start doctrine?
BAE Systems rethinks decision on artillery contracts
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/bae-systems-rethinks-decisionartillery-contracts/434923/
Strike well. Strike Bannu.
SHOULD BE Army-IAF Offensive Drill Near CHINA Border. ITS IMPORTANT.
Hi Shiv,
What is about the report on J-20 that you mentioned in http://livefist.blogspot.com/2011/04/coming-up-glimpse-into-indias-official.html?
We are eagerly waiting for the information.
Pradeep… 🙂
I just want to see Arjun in this exercise. After induction we haven't seen its live action but only reports.
Shiv do ask the tankers how they feel with that heat in their tanks and if an A/C would be helpful?TIA
Wonderful. You will get to see battle strategies and ground tactics from World War 2.
A wonderful show put up to demonstrate wars from an earlier generation. Thankfully Pakistan military intelligence is from the same generation as India's so our @$$ is saved.
Too bad Chinese military seems to be preparing for a war of the Future.
Yours Truly,
A Non Military guy. (so naturally, as a bloody civilian not smart enough to comment on the IA.)
Hey Non Military Guy,
You should have joined the services if you wanted to make difference.
And in response to this do not tell that I had glasses so I cant join air-force or I am making difference by doing some other work.
Let me tell you that the strategies which we use are more then enough to manage any of our neighbors.
Are bhai civilian ho to fir ham logo ka hosla badhao moral down kyun karte ho.
Love Mjr. Jai Hind….
One humble response to Mr. Non-Military-Guy…
If our strategies were so bad, then we wouldn't have been able to dislodge Pakis from the heights (that too advantageous positions) they occupied in Kargil war. I would recommend that you read "Gaurav Sawant's" first hand account of Kargil war – a book named Kargil. It not only gives an insight into the courage and bravery shown by our forces, but also the innovations that they came up with during wartime.
Also, if you watch Nat-Geo, you will come to know that U.S & British troops are facing a torried time in the mountains of Afghanistan. To overcome that, U.S actually sent some of its troops to our School-of-Mountain-Warfare in Laddakh.
Shiv, I wish to know the extent of progress in the FINSAS project and its implementation in these exercises. Has the Average soldier started wearing Ballistic Helmets/ BP Jackets/ NVG-HMDs/ Pads/ Advanced shoes and Digi-cam uniforms etc?
In most exercises till date, I find them in the WW2 era attire – metal helmet, cheap uniform, a common '65 era green camouflage for every terrain, no jacket, no knee/arm pads, no NVG/HMD. So what is happening to the FINSAS Program? They are suppose to complete their first phase of implementation by 2012. Right? So has their been any real testing yet in such exercises?
The FINSAS Program has been out of limelight for quite sometime. The last we heard was about another Goddamn RPF issued about rifles. What happened to the indigenous rifles?
Shiv can you confirm if Arjun is participating or not? Aaj Tak did show a clip but can't say if it was from Opp "Vijayee Bhava:" or was just a file video. Waiting!
Thanks
Why is that tank dug in? Is it a part of a "Red" team?
The sight of a dug in tank reminds me of T-72s of GW1, and gives me the shivers. In terms of practical utility, does this digging in give any significant advantage in terms of either presenting a smaller target or in terms of protection from long rods?
whats the aim of this exercise ? why we spent a lot in that exercises .