War games in desert -- 20,000 troops, IAF stage `Vijay Chakra'

War games in desert -- 20,000 troops, IAF stage `Vijay Chakra'
DEEPAN DASGUPTA

SURATGARH, FEBRUARY 15: The desert here is bristling with track marks of rumbling vehicles. And though the nights are freezing, about 20,000 troops are on the move round the clock over an area of 150 km. It's a giant war game `Vijay Chakra' being staged by the Indian Army since early this month. Under the watchful eyes of international observers and the media, the country's defence forces are testing their operational capabilities and readiness to fight the enemy.

The Indian Air Force, an infantry division and an armoured brigade, besides their supportive components like the engineers and the Signals, are the participants.

On field survey near an observation high ground on the outskirts of Purvani Ki Dhani village in Bikaner district, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi said yesterday the exercise was closest to actual warfare.

It also gave the brass an opportunity to judge its individual and collective operational capabilities. He described the exercise as a ``game of bringing outthe troops and all their group and individual training which they carry out in the garrison...''

Dismissing the perception that the exercise was being carried out to send a message across the border, Lt Gen Oberoi said ``it gives an opportunity to the higher commands the brigade commanders and corps commanders to learn lessons in how to handle their commands.'' The neighbouring country had been informed in advance about the exercise, he added.

The exercise also provided an opportunity to test new equipment, particularly in field and battle communication, said the General. It will enable the Army to assess future requirements and prepare QR (qualitative requirements).

To simulate an actual war-like situation, the area has been demarcated as the blue land and the red land. The former is for the advancing troops while the red land has a ``token, smaller force so that it appears a two-sided affair''. Umpires are monitoring the tactical moves of the attackers and the enemy and evaluating theirperformance.

Lt Gen Oberoi said the desert provided an ideal all-terrain theatre to carry out manoeuvres. And since few areas here are under cultivation, the Army need not worry about ``damaging crops and paying a lot of compensation'' in this season of gram cultivation in this land that's irrigated by the Indira Gandhi and Rajasthan canals. The troops also do not need to worry about water during this time of the year.

``The Air Force has also been called in. Besides sorties by fighters and bombers, a paradrop and heliborne infantry deployment behind enemy lines will be carried out in the next few days. Attack copters, MI-35S and MI-25s have also been deployed for the exercise,'' Lt Gen Oberoi disclosed. Added a major general: ``As far as the Army is concerned, we have fielded all the equipment in an infantry division the artillery guns, tanks, BMPS (or the ICVs infantry combat vehicles) and the supporting equipment and all-terrain vehicles.''

Representatives from 22 countries, including USA, Britain,Italy, Egypt, Iran, Nepal and North Korea, are witnessing `Vijay Chakra'.Lt Gen Oberoi regretted that in the past 10 years the budgetary allocation for defence had been low. ``But we hope this year there will be an increase,'' he added.