Indo-US wargames in Oct

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NEW DELHI: There have been some missteps but the Indo-US military tango continues apace. After holding the Malabar naval wargames in the Pacific
with Japan, India and US forces are now gearing for two more major combat exercises in October to further enhance "interoperability''.

Eager as it is to grab a major chunk of the lucrative Indian defence market, US will be showcasing its Stryker armoured combat vehicles, C-17 Globemaster-III giant military transport aircraft and Chinook multi-mission helicopters, among others, during the `Yudh-Abhyas' and `Cope-India' exercises.

India has already shown interest in acquiring at least 10 C-17 aircraft and 15 Chinook helicopters after inking the $2.1 billion deal for eight P-8i long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft and the $962 million contract for six C-130J heavy-lift aircraft.

Finalisation of the End-Use Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) -- governing US sensitive technology transfer requirements -- during secretary of state Hillary Clinton's visit here last month has only served to whet the appetites of Indian forces for American military hardware and software.

Though EUMA generated heat in Parliament, with the Opposition attacking the UPA government for giving US the right to physically inspect defence equipment sold to India, the two countries are now swiftly and quietly moving ahead to seal pending deals.

The technical assistance agreement to `operationalise' the P-8i deal, for instance, was inked recently. Then, the contract for AGM-84L and ATM-84L Harpoon Block-II anti-ship missiles for $170 million is being finalised now, said defence ministry sources.

The most visible symbol of the upward trajectory has, of course, been the flurry of joint combat exercises -- around 50 in the last seven years -- between Indian and American forces.

Incidentally, a major Indo-US exercise revolving around maritime operations by special forces, which was to be held off Mumbai, was abruptly cancelled in the run-up to the April-May general elections due to Indian domestic political sensitivities.

But brushing that aside, the next round of bilateral wargames will kick off in October, with an advanced transport and helicopter fleet exercise between IAF and USAF in Agra and Chandigarh.

This Cope-India exercise will also include operations by special forces after paradropping from transport aircraft like Indian IL-76s and AN-32s and American C-130J "Super Hercules''.

Almost simultaneously, the 2nd Stryker Brigade will be in the Babina armoured corps training centre near Jhansi to take part in the three-week long Yudh-Abhyas geared for swift combat manoeuvres in "a semi-urban environment''.

"US will be bringing 17 of their eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles, which have also been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and around 500 soldiers for this largest-ever ground combat exercise with India,'' said an officer

 

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Link : Indo-US military tango continues, two major wargames in Oct - India - NEWS - The Times of India

 

[Saint N sinnerr]

This article is for all the pakistani and chinese guys who were gloating about the war game comprising 50000 chinese soldiers china engaged itself in.

china's high-profile war games, launched last week by the People's Liberation Army (PLA), with 50,000 troops, have alarmed India and made the US nervous.
The US is taking great pains to ensure the joint India-US army and air exercises scheduled to start in October send a message to the Dragon through their sophistication.

A military official told DNA the US will move a convoy of eight-wheeled armoured Strykers from its Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii to Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh for the October war games, billed as the largest exercise between the two countries. Armoured Strykers, which can withstand rocket-propelled grenades, will demonstrate their agility in a series of drills in Babina near Jhansi called "Yudh Abhyas" that will focus on counter-insurgency.

"Strykers with extra armour in Iraq and Afghanistan have helped safeguard them -- they are the best machines in the world for patrols on roads that are laced with bombs," said a US military official.

Menacing and massive armoured Strykers will rumble alongside Russian T-72 tanks belonging to the Indian army's 31 Armoured Division which patrols India's scorching western desert border with Pakistan. At least 500 American soldiers, mostly drawn from the 2nd Stryker Brigade, will converge on Babina to participate in the Yudh Abhyas drills in October, which will coincide with aerial exercises in Agra.

The US will deploy Lockheed Martin's C-130J Hercules aircraft for the "Cope India" air drills. India which has already inked a $2.1-billion deal with Boeing for eight P-8i long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft has signalled interest in buying 15 Chinook helicopters.

India also plans to buy six Hercules transport planes from Lockheed Martin for $962 million and will get delivery in 2011. The Indian Air Force may also be shopping around for a transport aircraft like the giant Globemaster.

 

[Narkun]

Telegraph -

New Delhi, Aug. 20: The US is shipping 17 Strykers, its most modern fighting vehicles which lead many ground operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, to India for the largest joint army exercise between the two countries.

This will be the largest deployment of Strykers by the US outside Iraq and Afghanistan.

The exercise will be the latest in a series of drills called Yudh Abhyas that has so far been wargamed on counter-insurgency themes.

The deployment of the Stryker armoured fighting vehicles — designed to be more agile but with the firepower of tanks — alongside a formation of the Indian armoured corps suggests the level and intensity of Yudh Abhyas is being scaled up.

The Strykers will be shipped from Hawaii, the headquarters of the US Pacific Command, to Mumbai and then taken either by air or road to Babina near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.

Babina is the headquarters of the Indian Army’s 31 armoured division. The division is an element of the 21 Strike Corps and trained to lead ground operations in desert and semi-desert terrain on the India-Pakistan border.

The 31 division has T-72 Russian-origin tanks and is currently being re-equipped with the later-generation T-90 tanks.

Yudh Abhyas-09, scheduled for the second fortnight of October, will coincide with a major India-US Air Forces’ exercise that will be centred in Agra.

The US will deploy C-130J Hercules for the latest edition of the Cope India series of wargames. Six of the Lockheed Martin-made aircraft for medium cargo lifts and special forces operations have been contracted by the Indian Air Force.

The US will also fly in the much bigger C-17 Globemaster made by Boeing. The Indian Air Force has projected a need for a heavy lift transport aircraft in the category of the Globemaster. But the government has not yet called for proposals from prospective sellers.

The Agra base is home to the Indian Air Force’s transport and refueller aircraft and to the special forces’ Parachute Training School.

An army source said the configuration of the Indian deployment for the land forces’ exercise, most likely to be held in the field firing ranges near Babina, was still being worked out.

The US Stryker has replaced or is replacing most of the Bradley fighting vehicles that, along with the M1A1 Abrams tanks, the Humvee and the Hummer, led the charge into Iraq from Kuwait in 2003.

Subsequently, the US army chief, General Eric Shinseki, formulated the idea of Stryker Brigade Combat Teams that are the mobile land components in the wars.

The Stryker is capable of carrying 11 troops in its infantry-carrying version. But it can also be used for heavier mobile firepower and mounted with cannons and mortars. It is also used for medical evacuation and as a mobile command centre.