Theatre Command Level EX Poorvi Prahar to commerce along China border

The Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy will jointly commence a command-level tri-service theatre exercise code-named ‘Poorvi Prahar’ along the India-China border. The Poorvi Prahar exercise will be held from 10-18 November 2024. The exercise assumes significance in the Indian government's effort to set up an integrated theatre command in India.

Theatre in the military refers to a specific geographical area, whether in the sea, air, or land. These areas could potentially become areas of conflict or war in the future.

Area of the ‘Poorvi Prahar  exercise 

The Poorvi Prahar exercise will take place along the mountainous terrain of the India-China border in the eastern theatre. It will be held from the airfields of Assam in Dibrugarh, Jorhat, and Tezpur to the valleys and mountains of Arunachal Pradesh along the India-China border. 

Significance of the Poorvi Prahar Exercise 

• The main aim of the Poorvi Prahar exercise is to familiarise and train the three wings of the Indian military—the Army, Navy, and Air Force—in executing integrated joint operations in mountainous terrain. 
• It will also test the operational readiness and inter-service coordination of the three forces.
• Another objective of the exercise is to address the problems experienced by the three services regarding interoperability. 
• In the military, interoperability means the ability of the different wings of the armed forces to work together and use other weapon systems. This means that Indian Army personnel will use Indian Air Force weapons systems and vice versa.

About Poorvi Exercise 2024

• For the first time, the Indian Navy will deploy its long-range patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, P-8I Poseidon.
• The Indian forces will also deploy the latest advancements in surveillance technology, including Swarm Drones, First Person View (FPV) Drones, and loiter munitions.
• The forces will also deploy the Indian Air Force’s advanced fighter air crafts, reconnaissance plane, indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter(Rudra), American Chinook helicopters, and the  Indian Army-operated M777 Ultra-Light Howitzer artillery systems bought from the United States.
• During the exercise, the forces will aim to rapidly deploy the M777 Ultra-Light Howitzer artillery in the Eastern theatre using the CH-47 Chinook helicopters. 
• The M777 Ultra-Light Howitzer artillery will be a key weapon system of the Indian armed forces in case of conflict with China in these regions. 
• Also, during the exercise, joint control structures will be established to develop a more refined Common Operating Picture, optimising devices that operate on satellite communications and utilise Artificial Intelligence-driven analytics.

To Know about the Integrated Command, Read