NEW DELHI: A contingent of 81 personnel drawn from the Indian armed forces on Wednesday departed for Australia to take part in the second edition of AustraHind-23, a joint military exercise. It will be conducted at Perth from November 22 to December 6.
“The aim of the exercise is to foster collaborative partnership and share best practices between the two sides. The exercise will also promote inter-operability while undertaking multi-domain operations in urban and semi-urban terrain under Chapter VII of United Nations on peace keeping operations.”
The UN’s Chapter VII is about action with respect to threats to peace, breaches of peace, and acts of aggression. The personnel includes 60 from a Battalion of the Gorkha Rifles of Indian Army, One officer from Indian Navy and 20 personnel from Indian Air Force.
The Australian Army contingent comprising 60 personnel will be from the 13th Brigade. The Australian contingent will include 20 personnel each from the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force. AustraHind was instituted in 2022 and the first edition was conducted in Mahajan, Rajasthan. It is planned to be an annual training event to be conducted alternatively in India and Australia.
The joint exercise will promote exchange of ideas and jointly rehearse tactics, technique and procedures for conducting tactical operations. Training curriculum also includes sniper firing, and jointly operating surveillance and communication equipment to achieve a high degree of situational awareness. Casualty management and evacuation will also be rehearsed besides tactical actions at company or battalion level.
The exercise will also help in promoting understanding between the two militaries and further strengthen the defence cooperation between the two friendly nations.
INS Sumedha’s port of call in Mozambique
Indian Naval Ship Sumedha arrived at Maputo, Mozambique on Wednesday as part of the ongoing extended operational deployment to Africa.
“The port of call is aimed at strengthening long-standing diplomatic relations, reinforce maritime cooperation and boost interoperability between both the navies,” Indian Navy said. Professional interactions, cross-deck visits, planning conferences and joint EEZ surveillance from November 23-25, 2023, are scheduled during the visit.
Activities during the port of call include courtesy calls by the commanding officer on various dignitaries and government officials of Mozambique, including the Navy Commandant, Mozambique Navy and Mayor of Maputo City.