Ajeya Warrior exercise to increase India, UK army interoperability: Envoy

As the UK and India will conclude the seventh edition of the biennial exercise, Ajeya Warrior on Thursday, Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami said that the purpose of the joint military exercise 'Ajeya Warrior' is to try and increase interoperability between the armies and also to learn from each other.

Vikram Doraiswami made the remarks as he met the soldiers of India and the UK who are participating in Exercise Ajeya Warrior.

Contingents from the British and Indian Armies have been undertaking training at the Salisbury Plain Training Area in the UK for the past two weeks. This year, Exercise Ajeya Warrior involved troops from the UK's 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team and 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles and India's 6th Battalion of the Bihar Regiment.

 

Speaking to ANI, Vikram Doraiswami said, "The purpose of this opportunity is to try and increase interoperability between the armies and also to learn from each other. There is something that the British Army could learn from us and given the quality and experience of the British Army's planning processes, there are things that our people could learn from them."

Doraiswami said that Exercise Ajeya Warrier is a "flagship exercise" between the armies of India and the UK. He said, "Exercise Ajeya Warrior is our flagship exercise between our two armies. It's a biennial exercise and the purpose of this opportunity is to try and increase, of course, interoperability between the armies, but also to learn from each other. And as our British colleagues were telling us, one part, of course, is that there are similarities in the way we operate, in the way we are soldiers and men interact, which allows the two armies to integrate faster, which is really good to start an exercise."

He noted that there are differences in the way the army executes its instructions. He said that the Indian army could learn from the British army considering their plan and processes.

Doraiswami said, "there's also differences in the way things the army actually executes its instructions because of the difference in the scale of the army. Of course, there is some that the British army could learn from us. And of course, given the quality and experience of the British army's planning processes, etc, there are things that our people could learn. And that, frankly, is the whole idea. Our army should be always at the top of its game. It should always be at the height of professionalism and everything that helps improve our skills is what the government and the nation should be able to do to invest in the army's skilling processes. So, it's a success in that sense."

Speaking about his interaction with the soldiers of both sides, Vikram Doraiswami said, "I think the most touching part is the fact that the British Gurkha Regiment here and the Bihar Regiment soldiers, of course, have a lot in common, including Bollywood songs and language and cultural sort of frameworks of reference. But even with the Royal Irish unit that has been part of the exercise, I think the fact that they could bond so well suggests that our differences as people, as human beings, across cultures are actually much smaller than we think."

Colonel NS Rathor, Indian Contingent Commander for Joint Indo-UK Exercise, said that the boys of the Indian Army have done well. He said that the exercise has given an ideal platform for sharing the drills and best practices of operation in urban and semi-urban environments.

Speaking to ANI, Colonel NS Rathor said, "This Indo-UK Joint Exercise has given an ideal platform for sharing the drills and best practices of operation in urban and semi-urban environments. The Exercise has achieved the desired level of outcomes and has set new standards of the joint venture and interoperability between both armies."

Speaking about the exercise, Brigadier Nick said, "On this particular exercise, not only have we been training two of our battle groups, we've also been training with our Indian brothers. We have a very strong shared history and strategic partnership with India, but what's been really impressive is how quickly the tactical relationship has built among us."

Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said, "The UK and India are natural partners in defence and have increasing levels of interoperability, as shown by this highly complex and hands-on interaction between our militaries. The UK has made the Indo-Pacific 'tilt' a permanent pillar of our international policy. The region is critical to our economy, our security, and to our interest in an open and stable international order.