Moscow: Over 200 elite Russian mountain
troops are set to participate with their Indian counterparts
in anti-terror 'INDRA-2010' wargames scheduled for October
15-24 in Uttarakhand bordering China, the Defence Ministry
said on Wednesday.
Indian and Russian armed forces have been carrying out
joint wargames since 2003 on biannual basis.
The crack troops of the North Caucasus-based 34th
Independent Mountain Brigade of the Russian Army will fly to
Barelly on board military Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft,
from where they will proceed by road to Chaubattia near
Ranikhet, the base of Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army.
"During the upcoming exercise, the Russian and Indian
military personnel will form a joint task force, and plan and
carry out a series of mock anti-terrorism missions in the
mountains," the spokesman for the North-Caucasus Military
Area, Lt Col Andrei Bobrun, said.
The Russian troops will be equipped with their latest
automatic weapons for mountain warfare and lightweight
Permyachka Infantry Suits, which protect at least 80 per cent
of the body surface from small-calibre bullets and low-speed
shrapnel.
Both India and Russia have a rich experience in carrying
out anti-militancy and anti-terror operations in mountains and
the exchange of experience between their armed forces is
extremely important, the Defence Ministry officials here said.
In the past, Indian and Russian navies and paratroopers
have carried out joint wargames in the two countries with the
aim of honing skills in combined operations against sea
pirates and terrorists.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, October 14, 2010, 00:10