Troops from the Indian Army’s Parachute Regiment during Army Day parade, on January 15. (India Sentinels photo for representation.)
New Delhi: The Indian Army is conducting three bilateral exercises with its counterparts from Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, and Saudi Arabia this month. The exercises are codenamed “Cyclone” with Egypt, “Khanjar” with Kyrgyzstan, and “Sada Tanseeq” with Saudi Arabia.
The Indian Army has begun its Exercise Cyclone and Exercise Khanjar with the Egyptian and Kyrgyzstani armies from Monday at Anshas in Egypt and Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh respectively. Exercise Sada Tanseeq with Saudi Arabia will start from January 29 at the Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan.
Exercise Cyclone
Exercise Cyclone is the second edition of joint military exercise between the special forces of India and Egypt. The Indian Army contingent comprising 25 personnel have reached Egypt and began the wargames. The drills will come to an end on February 1.
The first edition of the exercise was conducted in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer, in January 2023, as India Sentinels had reported then.
The Indian contingent is being represented by troops from the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) (Para SF). The Egyptian side will be represented by 25 troops from the Egyptian Commando Squadron and Egyptian Airborne Platoon.
According to sources in the defence establishment, the aim of the exercise is to familiarize both the sides with each other’s operating procedures in the backdrop of special operations in desert and/or semi-desert terrain. It will involve planning and execution of special operations in sub conventional domains and will be conducted in three phases.
The first phase will include military exhibitions and tactical interactions, the second phase will focus on training on improvised explosive devices (IED), counter-IED and combat first-aid.
The third and final phase will be joint tactical drills based on fighting in built-up areas and hostage-rescue situations.
About the three joint exercises
Exercise Khanjar
This is the 11th edition of joint special forces exercise between India and Kyrgyzstan. The exercise is being conducted at the Special Forces Training School in Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh. This year, the exercise started on Monday and will culminate on February 3.
It is an annual event conducted alternatively in both the countries.
The Indian Army contingent comprises 20 troops from the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) (Para (SF) while the Kyrgyzstani contingent comprises 20 personnel from its army’s Scorpion Brigade.
Defence sources said the exercise is aimed to exchange experiences and best practices in counterterrorism and special forces operations in built-up areas and mountainous terrain.
They said the exercise will emphasize on developing skills for the special forces, including learning advanced techniques of insertion and extraction.
The exercise will also accord the opportunity to highlight the capabilities of cutting-edge indigenous defence equipment from both sides, identify and achieve shared security objectives, and foster bilateral relations.
Exercise Sada Tanseeq
This joint exercise will take place between the troops of the Indian Army’s mechanized infantry and Saudi Arabian land forces. The 14-day wargames will start from January 29 and end on February 9 at Rajasthan’s Mahajan Field Firing Range.
Both sides are fielding 45 personnel each to participate in the exercise.
