Indian Army Conducts Airborne Exercise Along Northern Borders To Test Capabilities

On March 25, the Indian Army conducted airborne operations to evaluate capabilities around the country’s northern borders. Airlifting of Airborne forces, large-scale drops, fast regrouping, monitoring of important locations, and capture of objectives were all part of the exercise, which was designed to validate aerial insertion and rapid response.

#IndianArmy conducted #AirborneExercise to validate Aerial Insertion & Rapid Response capabilities along #NorthernBorders. The Exercise entailed airlifting of Airborne troops, large scale drops, rapid regrouping, surveillance of critical targets & capture of objectives. pic.twitter.com/aiReRv0K1J

— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) March 25, 2022

The Indian Army has recently conducted airborne exercises.

In November 2021, amid rising tensions with China along the Line of Actual Control, the Indian Army conducted airborne operations at 14000 feet in Eastern Ladakh to carry out airborne insertion. Pre-acclimatized troops with specialist vehicles and missile detachments were transported from five different mounting bases via C-130 and AN-32 aircraft to validate inter-theatre moves, precision stand-off drops, rapid grouping, and the capture of designated objectives with speed and surprise, according to PTI.

Airborne forces, mechanised columns, and attack helicopters participated in combat-free fall jumps and integrated war drills to confirm fast response capabilities and flawless integration, they said.

Another exercise involving the Indian Air Force, mechanised forces, and the Indian Army involved dropping paratroopers, combat loads, vehicle mounted anti tank, and air defence missile detachments from C-130 and AN-32 aircraft over a predetermined target area.

The Indian Army conducted its largest airborne exercise, ‘Winged Raider,’ in the North-Eastern theatre in January 2020, involving the parachuting of over 500 soldiers from the Indian Air Force’s C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster transport planes, as well as the use of Dhruv helicopters during the day and night.

“Exercise Winged Raider demonstrated our Paratroopers and Air Warriors’ operational preparedness to conduct airborne missions,” the army stated in a statement. The army conducted Him Vijay in Arunachal Pradesh in October 2019 to test its new warfighting concept of Integrated Battle Groups (IBG) in mountain warfare under the 17 Corps.

These drills reflect a shift of focus toward the Chinese border. The strategy for India’s border with China, according to Army Chief Manoj Mukund Naravane, includes improving and developing roads in the front areas, habitats, ammunition storage, and shifting some of the modern weaponry systems to the eastern side.