The Indian Army is preparing for a large-scale combat exercise called "Trishakti Prahar" in Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: The exercise aims to test new-generation weapons and technologies, validate new concepts in long-range firepower, and incorporate lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war. Over 30,000 troops, tanks, howitzers, helicopters, fighter jets, and other aircraft from the Indian Air Force and Navy will participate. Sources say that preparations are in full swing on the western front in Rajasthan for the ‘Trishakti Prahar’ exercise of the 21 Corps.

The Army has geared up for a massive combat exercise to test new-generation weapon systems and technologies as well as to validate new concepts in long-range firepower, battle-readiness and force-preservation, including lessons learnt from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Preparations are in full swing on the western front in Rajasthan for the ‘Trishakti Prahar’ exercise of the 21 Corps, which is one of the four major “strike formations” of the 12-lakh strong Army, sources told TOI.

“The final phase of the two-side exercise will be in the first half of November. Over 30,000 troops, T-90S and Arjun main-battle tanks, a wide array of howitzers, choppers and the like are participating in the exercise. Fighter jets, Apache attack and Chinook heavy-lift helicopters and other aircraft from the IAF and Navy will also be there,” a source said.

Integrated air-land and combined arms operations, swifter mobilisation and deep-strike offensive capabilities, including “degradation by long-range vectors and precision high-volume strikes” backed by ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) and electronic warfare capabilities, will all be tested during the war game.

“Better mobility and effective shoot-and-scoot capabilities, another crucial force-preservation lesson from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, will be another focus area. Similarly, armed swarm drones and loitering munitions or kamikaze drones will also be in play,” the source said.

The ongoing military confrontation with China in eastern Ladakh, which is into its fourth year now, has led the Army to go in for huge emergency procurements (EP), including niche technologies ranging from unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs/drones), precision-guided missiles and loiter munitions to counter-drone, communication and automatic spectrum monitoring systems.

After 68 deals worth Rs 6,600 crore in the first three EP tranches, another 49 schemes worth Rs 7,600 crore have been inked in the fourth tranche. “Moreover, 34 other schemes worth around Rs 7,000 crore are in the final stages,” another source said.

Several of the newly-inducted weapon systems and technologies will be “test-bedded” during the Trishakti Prahar exercise. “Parallelly, a large number of cases for modernization and technology-infusion are also underway to ensure an agile future-ready force, incorporating niche technologies through indigenous solutions,” he added.

The critical need for self-reliance in defence production, technologies and R&D, with resilient supply chains for military sustenance, is after all one of the key lessons that has emerged from the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Moreover, it has underscored the need to also prepare for multi-domain wars of longer durations. Earlier, the dominant thought was that conflicts will be short, intense and swift,” a senior officer said.

The heightened tensions all along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control has also seen the Army — which has 14 corps, each with around 40,000 to 70,000 troops — re-balance a large number of additional forces and firepower to the frontier with China.