India to Participate in Kavkaz Exercise 2020 in Russia

India is going to participate in the multilateral military ‘Russian Kavakaz 2020’ strategic command exercise to be organized in Astrakhan, Russia. The Indian contingent will be represented by 150 Army Personnel and a smaller number of personnel from the Navy and the Air Force also.

Who all are invited to take part?

The invitation to participate in this exercise is known as Caucasus 2020 and it was extended to around 18 countries including China, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey besides from the Central Asian Republics which are part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The objective of this Exercise

The main objective of this exercise is to check the combat-readiness of the Russian Armed Forces and also to increase coordination between the participating nations. However, it has not yet been confirmed which countries are taking part in this exercise.

What is the Bilateral and Multilateral Exercise between India and Russia?

India and Russia also take part in various bilateral exercises such as:

• INDRA Naval Exercise: It is a joint, biennial military exercise conducted by India and Russia since 2003. It is meant for boosting cooperation and interoperability between the navies of both countries.
• Aviaindra Air Force Exercise: Aviaindra is an exercise between the Indian Air Force and Russian Federation Aerospace Force. The first such exercise was conducted in 2014 and the main objective of this exercise is anti-terrorist operations. This also increases the cooperation and understanding the concept of operations between the forces.
• TSENTR: It is a multilateral exercise that forms part of the annual training cycle of the Russian Armed Forces. This exercise operates through four main Russian operational strategic commands.

Month: Current Affairs - August, 2020