We need to equip the Indian Armed Forces, not 'commercial' as Trump wants, but 'operationally' looking at growing Chinese military capabilities, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Using the ongoing Indo-US joint wargame Yudha Abhyas 09 as a platform, the US -- anxious to grab a major chunk of the lucrative Indian arms market -- will undertake live operations of its high-tech weaponry like the Stryker infantry armoured vehicles and Javelin anti-tank guided missiles.
The Indian and US armies started the joint war games under Yudha Abhayas 09 at Babina cantonment area in Jhansi District of Uttar Pradesh on Monday.
Yudh Abhyas-09, as the exercise is called, is the first time that the US has taken its potent Stryker infantry armoured vehicles outside of its operational area to a foreign land.
Yudh Abhyas 2009 will impart a different trajectory to the military-to-military relationship. This is no longer about raids on insurgent hideouts or terrorist camps; strike corps training is for fighting a full-scale war together. This year, American and Indian mechanised forces will synchronise operations, planning, manoeuvring and firing together to capture a simulated objective.
Indian and United States Army soldiers were trained jointly during their Yudh Abhyas 2019 exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The exercise "Yudh Abhyas" started on September 5 and continueed till September 18. It is a part of the ongoing Indo-US defence cooperation. This is the 15th edition of the joint exercise hosted alternately between the two countries. Both armies are jointly training, planning and executing a series of well-developed operations for neutralisation of threats of varied nature. Here is a glimpse of what both the armies were up to.
In the 10 years since Yudh Abhyas began, the exercise has grown from platoon-level operations to brigade-and battalion-level operations.
Powerful senators write to US Defense Secretary Hagel to support a robust defence relationship with India to achieve shared goals and form an unwavering bond between the world's two largest democracies. Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances