In a first for the Indian Army, its soldiers are heading for England to participate in a joint training exercise later this month. The joint exercise on British soil will involve the Mechanized Infantry troops which will receive training at the British Army’s prestigious Land Warfare Centre (LWC) in Warminister.

Officials said the Indian Army company — comprising more than 100 troops and officers — will remain in the UK for over a month and take part in two small exercises after the initial training period. The deployment is likely to begin from August 29.

LWC is one of the most advanced land warfare training establishments and relies heavily on simulators to train troops. The centre draws from the experience gained by British armored formations during the Afghan war to simulate a realistic battlefield. It is the British Army’s main combined arms training centre.

“The training is starting early next month and will last close to five weeks. After an initial training period, two small exercises have been planned out in the UK,” a senior officer said, adding that Indian Armored Vehicles would not be sent for the war game.

The training exercise comes a year after the UK troops participated in the joint anti terror exercise with India in September last year. The 25-day war game in the Ladakh region, aimed at training UK troops for Afghanistan drew protests from Pakistan, which raised objections to an exercise on ‘disputed territory’.

The first ever exercise between elite soldiers of the Indian and British Forces — called Himalayan Warrior — was conducted at altitudes of over 3,500 feet and included simulated attacks on terrorist camps and guerilla strikes.

... contd.