Over 200 tanks with 40,000 troops from the Strike Corps of the Indian Army are flexing their muscles a few kilometers from the Pakistan border in the deserts of the Rajasthan. The aim of the massive drill is to evaluate the capability to strike deep into enemy territory, according to Army.

Calling it a significant show of strength, formations of the Souther Command are carrying out drills called ‘Hamesh Vijayee’ (always victorious) from December 16 to 22 December. And for the first time, Bhopal based Strike Corps 21 is participating the military exercise.

Military establishment believes that neighbouring Pakistan is closely monitoring the movement of the Indian troops, especially a day after Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa came out with a statement saying that he will support any initiative of the civilian government to resolve issues with India through talks. Bajwa’s statement came as a surprise to the Indian military establishment because Pakistan army has violated ceasefire along the International Border and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir more than 720 times this year, the highest in past seven years.

The ongoing military war game by the Indian Army, right on the border, is  seen as a strong message to the Pakistan.

According to Indian Army sources, on Thursday, para-battalions were landed at the ground, similar to September 29 Surgical Strike.

After extensive training of two months to hone their skills and tactics, a large number of troops along with tanks and other armoured vehicles duly supported by overwhelming land and air based firepower has commenced conducting fully integrated operational manoeuvres to validate their operational plans.

Army claims that the exercise, being conducted in battle like conditions, aims at fine tuning surveillance and destruction mechanisms to support precision strikes and manoeuvres by network enabled forces.

“With emphasis on joint operations, the exercise would test robust sensor to shooter grids by employing a vast array of surveillance and air assets networked with land based strategic and tactical vectors,” Army said, while adding that besides conventional warfare, troops will also be rehearsed to operate in the back drop of chemical and nuclear contingencies.

The exercise showcasing a high degree of synergy between the Army and Air Force along with new generation aviation assets of the Army will be reviewed by a large number of senior officers of both the Services to obtain inputs for further refinement of operational procedures, according to Army officials.

Army maintained that it undertakes such exercises at regular intervals to ensure a high degree of battle readiness as well as validation of operational plans using modern weapons and equipment.