Post Uri, India, US militaries to engage in more complex combat drills

New Delhi: India and the US will engage in more intense and complex military exercises in the coming days in tune with their "joint strategic vision", a media report said on Sunday.

The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), inked during Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's visit to the US last month, will facilitate complex drills between the two sides.

According to The Times of India (TOI), both sides are “planning to go in for a major upgrade of their bilateral combat exercises”.

Citing a defence ministry sources, the report said that the aim is to "further increase the scope and complexity" of the military exercises and engagements "across the board".

"But we can learn a lot from the high-tech US armed forces in the exercises, ranging from complex mission planning and execution to operating in an increasingly digitised warfare environment.

“Conversely, they can learn from our battle and insurgency-hardened forces. LEMOA will further boost the interoperability," TOI quoted an official as saying.

The militaries of the two sides are also reportedly in discussions to upgrade their navy-to-navy engagements, particularly on anti-submarine warfare and maritime security.

Also, the Yudh Abhyas drills between the two sides are going to "evolve" into "a more complex, combined arms, divisional-level exercise", the report said.

The 12th edition of Yudh Abhyas is currently underway at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand. Infantry soldiers and Stryker combat teams from Fort Louis in the US are participating in the exercise.

The focus of Yudh Abhyas is reportedly on counter-terrorism drills involving "a combined deployment at a brigade-level". Both sides are also planning to conduct exercises involving "air-ground integration, combined arms maneuver and targeting processes", according to the report.