Ex Vajra Prahar 2022: India, US commence joint exercise in HP's Bakloh
Aug 08, 2022
New Delhi [India], August 8 : India and the US commenced a military exercise named "Ex Vajra Prahar 2022" in Himachal Pradesh's Bakloh on Monday to improve interoperability between the Special Forces of both nations.
The joint exercise by the Special Forces of both the countries is conducted alternatively between India and the United States to share the best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics.
"The 13th Edition of the Indo-US Joint Special Forces exercise "Ex Vajra Prahar 2022" commenced at the Special Forces Training School (SFTS), Bakloh (HP) today," the Indian Army said in a press release.
The US contingent is represented by personnel from the 1st Special Forces Group (SFG) and Special Tactics Squadron (STS) of US Special Forces and the Indian Army contingent is formed by drawing Special Forces personnel under the aegis of SFTS.
The Vajra Prahar series of joint exercises aims to share best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics as also to improve inter-operability between the Special Forces of both Nations.
This annual exercise is hosted alternatively between India and the United States. The 12th edition was conducted at Joint Base Lewis Mcchord, Washington (USA) in October 2021.
During the course of the next 21 days, teams of both armies would jointly train, plan and execute a series of Special Operations, Counter Terrorist Operations, Air Borne operations in simulated conventional and unconventional scenarios in mountainous terrain.
This joint exercise is a significant step in strengthening the traditional bond of friendship between the special forces of both Nations as well as improve bilateral defence cooperation between India and the USA.
Bilateral military exercises and defence exchanges are an important facet of deepening bilateral defence cooperation between friendly countries.
During such events, the armies of participating nations jointly train, plan and execute a series of operations for neutralisation of threats of varied nature with a common aim of countering threats of international terrorism through mutual training and jointness.
