A large-scale tri-service joint amphibious exercise AMPHEX-21 was conducted in Andaman & Nicobar group of islands from 21 to 25 January. The exercise involved participation of naval ships, amphibious troops of the Army and different types of aircraft from the Indian Air force.
The exercise involved multi-faceted maritime operations by synergised employment of amphibious assault ships, surveillance platforms, execution of maritime air strikes and complex manoeuvres at sea. Airborne insertion of marine commandos of Navy and Special Forces of the Army, naval gunfire support, amphibious landing of forces and follow-on operations also formed part of the exercise.
The exercise was conducted under the aegis of Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) with participation of Eastern Naval Command (ENC) and Army Southern Command (SC) involving assets of Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. The exercise involved participation and deployment of all forces of ANC, elements of Amphibious Brigade of Army’s Southern Command along with corvettes, submarine and amphibious landing ships of Navy’s Eastern Fleet and Marine Commandos. Jaguar Maritime Strike and transport aircraft from Indian Air Force and assets of Coast Guard also participated.
The exercise commenced with maritime strikes by Jaguar aircraft, Para Commandos and Marine Commandos carrying out Combat Free Fall at Car Nicobar with an aim to validate air dominance and maritime strike capability within the area of interest in Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Prior to amphibious landing operations, troops of the Army, Navy and Air Force were mobilised and transported by sea and air in close coordination with all agencies.
As part of shaping the battle field, MARCOS along with their combat loads and Air Droppable Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (ADR) were dropped over the Andaman Sea, enabling the Marine Commandos reach the target with stealth and speed. MI-17 V5 Armed Helicopters undertook precision targeting against designated enemy assets at sea and on land. The training exercise culminated with the beach landing operations by elements of Amphibious Brigade of Southern Command from INS Jalashwa, Airavat, Guldar and LCU MK-4 class of ships with 600 troops along with tanks, troop carrier vehicles and other heavy weapons. The logistic team demonstrated and validated the joint logistic system and its capabilities to respond to dynamic changes in operational situations and combat missions. The areas in which the exercise was conducted holds strategic significance for India.
The exercise also validated joint capabilities of intelligence gathering from space, air, land and sea based assets, its synthesis, analysis and near real time sharing to achieve battle field transparency for quick decision making. The joint force executed multi-domain, high intensity offensive and defensive manoeuvres in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. The tri-services exercise fine-tuned joint war fighting capabilities and Standard Operating Procedures towards enhancing operational synergy.
In conjunction with Amphex 2021, a joint military exercise Kavach involving the Indian Navy, Army, Indian Air Force and Indian Coast Guard was held to train for high-density offensive and defensive measures in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal and to achieve maritime domain awareness by employment of a multitude of sensors. In addition, they carried out amphibious landing operations, with helicopters transporting maritime special forces, and finally tactical follow-up operations on land.
The Kavach exercise will also involve coordinated air and sea strikes, coordinated applications of maritime surveillance assets, air defence and landing operations.
In addition to the Kavach exercise, a joint intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) exercise was also run concurrently under the aegis of HQ Integrated Defence Staff. ISR verified the intelligence gathering and information sharing capabilities from space, land, air and sea.
These joint exercises are important from the point of view of Armed Forces moving towards joint commnads. On the anvil is the Maritime Theatre Command (MTC).
The MTC, as currently conceived, carves out an expansive role for the navy. It will subsume into itself all the navy’s current forces and infrastructure, including what is under the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command.
The MTC will also include the air force bases at Sulur, Jamnagar and Thanjavur, and the amphibious warfare brigade — 108 Infantry Brigade — based in Port Blair.
Along with the Army’s static establishments and training schools in peninsular India, the 83,000-strong navy of today will expand into a 300,000-strong integrated theatre command.
India has a long coastline of about 7,500 Kms and this includes about 1,100 offshore islands. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India is enormous and measures approximately 2.01 million sq km. Indian Navy’s role are responsible for the overall maritime security of India, which includes coastal security, Islands and the offshore units. Accordingly, Indian Navy has evolved the capability to achieve superiority in a limited Regional conflict and as a forward-deployed naval power over the years.
