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| India-Pakistan |
| Indian Navy to conduct massive wargames in Arabian sea |
| 2007-02-02 |
| NEW DELHI: In one of the largest maritime exercises in recent times, India's western and eastern naval fleets have amassed their warships, submarines, aircraft and helicopters on the western seaboard to conduct intensive combat manoeuvres in the entire Arabian Sea. Given the sheer size of this "theatre readiness operational exercise" or "Tropex" and its proximity to the Pakistani waters, New Delhi has given "advance notice" to Islamabad under a long-standing bilateral agreement. The agreement, inked in April 1991, is a safeguard to prevent "any crisis situation" from developing due to "misreading" of the each other's "intentions" during the conduct of large wargames. Sources said Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta and Army Chief General J J Singh will be witnessing the "work up" of the two fleets on Friday, which will be followed by the "tactical phase" of the exercise later this month. "Over 50 frontline warships, including aircraft carrier 'INS Viraat', Delhi-class destroyers, Talwar-class stealth frigates and Kilo-class submarines, will be part of Tropex,"said a source. "Tropex will also include elements from the Army, IAF and Coast Guard. From the IAF, for instance, maritime strike Jaguar fighters will take part in the manoeuvres,"he added. Apart from its sheer scale, the exercise is significant since one of its objectives will be to practice the operational concept of "maritime manoeuvre from the sea". The concept is basically designed to ensure that in the short, swift and intense conflicts of the future, the Navy is able to favourably influence the outcome of the land-air battle. |
| Posted by:john |
| #7 You just know the MIG 21 boyz are twiddling their thumbs like HOMER SIMPSON - iff they don't crash during the MILEX, they'll crash afterwards. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-02-02 21:08 |
| #6 India also maintained a policy of diversifying weapon purchases. While the majority of its systems were Soviet, it bought significant quantities of French and British hardware. So India has Jaguar fighter-bombers, Harrier jets, Mirage fighters as well as the Migs. The Navy bought British kit (like the carrier Hermes) and Italian and French sub-systems for their ships. |
| Posted by: john 2007-02-02 18:50 |
| #5 It is quite a common misperception that Indian forces were Soviet trained because they operated Soviet equipment. In fact, despite having access to the Warsaw pact export version of many Soviet weapons (unlike the further downgraded third world versions), India never held joint exercises with Soviet troops. They were never allowed on its soil. Having fought in WW2, the British trained Indian officers were quite dismissive of Soviet tactics, believing their own doctrines to be superior. Visiting Russian arms executives have said that India was one of the few countries that used Soviet weapons well, holding up a battered reputation after the Arabs did so badly with them. |
| Posted by: john 2007-02-02 18:44 |
| #4 Also, a couple of days ago, a poster asserted that in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, the Indians were Soviet equipped and trained, and defeated the Western equipped and trained Pakistanis. I did not disagree at that point because I was uncertain of the arms that each side was using. However, after doing research, I found out that the assertion was false : the newest fighters on both sides were MiGs - J-6 {Mig-19} for Pakistan, and MiG-21 for India. Also, the Indians had THREE times as many aircraft {including the newest ones}, and both sides utilized older Western air craft as their main air fleets. Also, the Indians did NOT fight as Soviet air forces do, instead they utilized their British fighter training and tactics. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2007-02-02 18:14 |
| #3 I would say that this is more aimed at Bangladesh/China than Pakistan. The Chinese now have naval bases in both Pakistan and Bangladesh, and have been making noises about the Chinese need to control the sea lanes for Chinese oil imports. The Chinese have also been backing the Maoists in Nepal, as well as the communist insurgency in the Indian border provinces. Looks like the Indians are out to remind all parties that they can do damage close in or far out from their shores, and to remind the Banglas of the results of the 1971 war with Pakistan : decimation of all Paki forces in Bangladesh. Also this helps serve notice on the Chinese that the Indians have not forgotten the lost territory for the Sino-Indian War of 1962. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2007-02-02 18:02 |
| #2 " |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-02-02 17:08 |
| #1 the operational concept of "maritime manoeuvre from the sea". Next, they will practice maritime manoeuvre from land? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2007-02-02 15:38 |