India is very interested in creating relationships with diverse countries worldwide. Integrating military exercises is an inescapable requirement for the modern conflict zone. Apart from economic ties and the current complex scenario, the united military is crucial for country collaboration. Following Kargil, the Indian armed forces were motivated to improve their military cooperation. The most crucial advantage of combined military drills is ‘strategic signalling.’
Military Exercises in India
The Indian military exercises may be classified into three types:
- Domestic training
- Bilateral Exercise
- Multiple-party exercise
Domestic Exercises:
- It attempts to improve internal interactions and may include inter-services or intra-services based on the purpose and application.
Domestic military drills include the following:
- Paschim Lehar
- Gandiv Vijay
Bilateral Exercises:
- These exercises are those that take place between two countries.
The table below is a list of notable Indian bilateral military exercises.
| Exercise Name | Nations Involved |
| CORPAT | India and Thailand |
| Hand in Hand | India and China |
| Shakti | India and France |
| Yudh Abhyas | India and USA |
| Mitra Shakti | India and Sri Lanka |
| Vajra Prahar | India and USA |
| Sampriti | India and Bangladesh |
| Dharma Guardian | India and Japan |
| SIMBEX | India and Singapore |
| Surya kiran | India and Nepal |
Multilateral Exercises:
| Exercise name | Nations involved |
| Malabar Exercise | India, Japan, and the United States |
| RIMPAC | Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Thailand, China, Colombia, Netherlands, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Norway, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Peru, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the United States |
| Samvedna | South Asian nations |
Let us briefly discuss Malabar and RIMPAC:
Malabar Exercise:
- Malabar is a multinational naval combat exercise that began in 1992. It commenced as a bilateral engagement between India’s and the United States’ warships.
- After two additional iterations of the exercise in 1995 and 1996, there was a halt until 2002 in the wake of India’s nuclear tests.
- The exercise has been held every year since 2002. Japan and Australia were the first to participate in 2007; since 2014, India, the United States, and Japan have attended every year.
RIMPAC:
- It is one of the major multinational naval exercises led by the United States.
- RIMPAC began in 1971 as an annual exercise between the United States, Australia, and Canada. However, beginning in 1974, the marine drill had become a biennial event.
- Its goal is to improve interoperability and create confidence among friendly foreign navies.
- India first took part in RIMPAC in 2014 with the domestically built Shivalik-type stealth cruiser INS Sahyadri.
- The Indian Fleet’s INS Satpura and 1 P8I marine surveillance aircraft are competing in the current edition.
Other Important Military Exercises:
| Exercise Name | Countries taking part alongside India |
| Bold Kurukshetra | Singapore |
| Garuda Shakti IV | Indonesia |
| Indra | Russia |
| Lamitye | Seychelles |
| Mitra Shakti | Sri Lanka |
| Nomadic Elephant | Mongolia |
| Surya Kiran | Nepal |
| Prabal Dostyk | Kazakhstan |
| Maitree | Thailand |
| Khanjar | Kyrgyzstan |
A military operation involving two or more countries is a method of testing the capabilities of the armed services without engaging in combat. It allows for greater military cooperation, monitoring of enemy strategies, and hands – on experience with new technology, allowing for on-the-job learning of each other’s personnel. These are helpful in combined military operations, whether in war or in non-war operations such as disaster relief and humanitarian aid.
A military operation involving two or more countries is a method of testing the capabilities of the armed services without engaging in combat. It allows for greater military cooperation, monitoring of enemy strategies, and hands-on experience with new technology, allowing for on-the-job learning of each other’s personnel. These are helpful in combined military operations, whether in war or non-war operations, such as disaster relief and humanitarian aid.
