Yudh Abhyas Exercise 2021

15 Oct 2021 Yudh Abhyas Exercise 2021

• India and the United States are set to start a 15-day mega military exercise in Alaska from October 15, 2021 in a bid to further deepen bilateral military cooperation between both the countries.

Key Points

• Year 2021 will mark the 17th edition of the exercise “Yudh Abhyas”.
• Exercise will be conducted at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Alaska.
• It will commence from October 15 and end on 29.

Indian contingent

• At the exercise, the Indian contingent will comprise of 350 personnel from an infantry battalion group of Indian Army.

Background

• The previous (16^th) edition of the exercise took place in February 2021 in Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Bikaner.

Significance of the exercise

• Exercise Yudh Abhyas is a step towards growing military cooperation between the both the countries.
• It is carried with the aim of enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability between armies of India and USA.
• It will also focus on combined arms manoeuvres in cold climatic conditions.
• The primary aim of the exercise if to share tactical level drills and learn best practices from each other.

Major Defence Partner

• United States had designated India as a Major Defence Partner, in June 2016. Both the countries also signed key defence and security pacts in past few years such as ‘Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA)’ in 2016.
• LEMOA allows the militaries from both the countries to use each other’s bases for repair & replenishment of supplies and to provide a deeper cooperation.
• Countries also signed COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) in the year 2018. COMCASA provides for interoperability between both the militaries as well as provides for sale of high-end technology from the US.
• They signed BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement in October 2020 in order to further boost bilateral defence ties.
• It provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics & geospatial maps between both the countries.

yojna ias daily current affairs 15 Oct 2021

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