Andaman & Nicobar command conducts large scale joint military exercise ‘KAVACH’

India’s only tri-services Andaman & Nicobar command conducted a joint military exercise ‘EX-KAVACH’ on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. During the exercise, various drills by soldiers were carried out, including amphibious landing, air landing operations, heliborne operations, and rapid insertion of special forces commandos.

Soldiers weapon systems of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force as well as the Coast Guard were deployed for ‘EX-KAVACH’. The joint service exercise is aimed to finetune joint warfighting capabilities and operational synergy.

Andaman & Nicobar Command conducted a large-scale Joint military EX-KAVACH involving assets of the Army, Navy, Air Force & Coast Guard on April 5. This joint-services exercise aimed to fine-tune joint war-fighting capabilities & operational synergy: ANC pic.twitter.com/BLFLQt16UZ

— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2023

About the exercise

The exercise was a tri-service exercise and involved assets of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. This exercise included tri-services joint operations and drills to prepare the armed forces to face any combat challenges in the current warfare scenarios around the globe. Naval warships, amphibious troops of the Army and different types of aircraft of the Indian Air Force were employed during the military drill.

The coordinated deployment of amphibious assault ships, and surveillance ships, the execution of maritime air strikes, and complicated manoeuvres at sea allowed for multifaceted maritime operations during the drill. The drill also included the airborne insertion of marine commandos from the Navy and Para commandos from the Indian Army, naval gunfire support, amphibious landing forces, and follow-up operations. During the exercise, joint activities for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance were also conducted.

The exercise was previously conducted in 2021 known as AMPHEX-21. It was conducted from 21-25 Jan 2021 in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Even during that exercise, all three services participated.

The exercise aimed at validating India’s capabilities to safeguard the territorial integrities of its island territories. The exercise involved multi-faceted maritime operations by deploying amphibious assault ships, naval gunfire support, amphibious landing forces and follow-on operations were part of the exercise.

The IAF displayed its firepower with Jaguar maritime strike and transport aircraft. The Indian Coast Guard was also part of the exercise. This exercise will help the armed forces perform joint operations in synergy during real war scenarios where the armed forces would have to prevent or launch an offensive against the enemy forces. With the current global scenario and knowing India's notorious neighbours on northern and western borders this exercise will give India a significant boost during a two-front offensive.